


The Survivors

by toomanythoughtsaboutfandoms



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Day6 - Freeform, EXO - Freeform, Everyone Is Gay except for like 6 people, GOT7 - Freeform, I'll Explain Later, Inspired by The Darkest Minds, M/M, Mutual Pining, Only sort of tho?, Other Fandoms, Other fandoms will be present, Pentagon, Red Velvet, Seventeen - Freeform, Slow Burn, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Superpowers, There will be violence, Vixx - Freeform, blackpink - Freeform, bts - Freeform, im sorry if you don’t like the extra ships but I had to sort out like 100 people and it is v tiring, just give it time, mamamoo - Freeform, nct - Freeform, no one dies tho, twice
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2019-09-16 06:02:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 27,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16948374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toomanythoughtsaboutfandoms/pseuds/toomanythoughtsaboutfandoms
Summary: 10 years ago, a disease swept through the world, wiping out 90% of Earth's kids 18 and under.The survivors were left with strange, sometimes dangerous abilities. In order to keep these kids under control, the government put them in facilities, where they went through experimentation and 'conditioning'Felix was taken to District 9 when he was 8 years old. After years of experimentation and torture, he finally learns what they're searching for, soulmates. When an attack on his facility leads him with small rebel group Stray Kids, Felix is given the opportunity to finally have freedom. But safety is never a guarantee.





	1. District 9

**Felix**

Felix woke with a gasp at the sound of his cell door opening, sitting up quickly to avoid being dragged. His handler, a middle-aged woman with a tight face and dark hair walked into the room, heels clicking.

“Up.” Felix tried not to wince as he stood up, body still aching from the morning’s conditioning. He stood still, hands out in front of him as she clicked a pair of metal bands around each wrist. Not that he ever felt any difference. Without light or positivity, Felix was as good as useless when it came to his abilities, and in District 9 there was always a distinct lack of both. Two circles of power suppressant metal weren’t going to change anything.

They walked the same path they always did, Felix locking eyes with each of his fellow prisoners, all wearing matching broken expressions. Back when he was younger, Felix always tried to spare a smile for them, a show of bravery to inspire hope. But eventually, time wore away and he began to realise that there was no hope down here, only survival.

They approached the door to the Examination Room and Felix took his place in front of the door, waiting for his handler to enter the Observation Area before it unlocked in front of him. Stepping inside, he made his way towards the centre of the room, cautiously eyeing the large chair waiting for him alongside a man in a lab coat. Sitting still to allow the man to hook him up to the usual equipment, Felix was surprised to see a large screen coming down in front of him. This was new.

“What’s happening?” He asked, turning towards the man, only to find that he was alone. Turning back towards the screen, Felix heard a voice come in over the intercom.

“Keep your eyes on the screen and don’t move unless told.”

Focusing on the screen, Felix watched as images began flickering in front of him. Videos of other people, kids, being tortured and experimented on. He tried not to scream as he watched each of his fellow prisoners get taken apart, tried to ignore their screams of pain. But soon it became too much. Felix began to struggle against the chair, trying to escape the horrible screaming invading his ears.

“Stop it, please!” He begged, closing his eyes in an attempt to block out their pain. The lights on the screen flickered spasmodically and the colour on the screen began to drain as Felix pulled the light particles away: his desperation breaking through the nulling effects of the cuffs. Distantly, he heard the sound of the door opening. A pair of fingers forced his eyes open and there was a new, sharp light shining in his eyes.

“Nothing.” Felix didn’t recognise the sound of the voice beside him. Distantly he noted a pain in his arm, flinching at the familiar prick of the needle. As he slipped into unconsciousness, Felix heard the last pieces of his handler’s voice.

“… need to find his soulmate or else…” Felix had enough time to think, _soulmate?_ before everything went black.

**Chan**

Chan looked up as Changbin swayed unsteadily beside him.

“What’s wrong?”

“I felt a bit dizzy for a second there,” he replied, shaking his head slightly, “probably just a bit of nerves.” Chan narrowed his eyes.

“If it’s too difficult to stay in control then don’t push yourself. This mission isn’t that important and I won’t risk your safety just for the pleasure of pissing off the District Council.”

“I’m good Chan, don’t worry about me.” Chan still wasn’t entirely convinced but he let it drop. His eyes flicked back to Jisung and Minho, who were sitting concealed in the trees along the edge of the property. Jisung threw him a thumbs up to signal that they were in position. He grinned and turned to the building. Putting both of his hands against the wall, Chan let his electricity surge through the building, eyes glowing blue and grin widening as the lights all went out around him.

This was nothing more than a hit on the District Council, a scheme to rile them up, hopefully even free some prisoners. Chan’s team had only been sent to distract the Council and slow things down, maybe get an idea of what they were working on. But after 7 years spent in District 7, it would be a lie to say that Chan wouldn’t take the opportunity to inflict a little extra damage should it present itself.

Chan and Changbin took off towards the doors, Changbin knocking them down with a wave of dark energy as they made their way inside. _The District Council really shouldn’t rely so heavily on electrical systems,_ Chan mused as they ran through the corridors, following a combination of his memory of the facility layout and Woojin’s directions from the stolen blueprints.

“Stop right there!” They exchanged glances, smirking. Changbin stopped and turned to face the guards sprinting after them, twin dark clouds forming around his hands. Chan continued past him, turning left as he made his way deeper into the building. After a few turns he came up to a row of cells, each with its own prisoner. Chan looked at each face in horror as they looked up at him, surprise carved into their broken expressions.

“What have they done to you?” Chan’s voice was barely above a whisper. Each prisoner was no older than 17, but covered head to toe in dark bruises and barely healing gashes. He moved to each cell, surging the locks and letting the doors swing open. As he continued down the hall, a small hand grabbed his wrist. A little girl, no older than 11, pointed to the end of the hallway, where a barely noticeable steel door stood against the wall.

“Felix.” She croaked, before disappearing in the direction of the other prisoners. Chan made his way to the end of the hallway towards the door, frying it so hard the lock melted under his fingers.

Lying on the floor in the centre of the room was a boy, features barely distinguishable in the darkness surrounding them. _Fuck._ Before Chan knew what he was doing, he lifted the boy into his arms and sprinted out the door back the way he came, praying that whatever was in the boy’s system was only a sedative. As he turned the final corner, he found Changbin standing in the hallway, surrounded by unconscious guards. He gasped.

“We need to get out of here!” Chan didn’t even stop to make sure the other was following him as he rushed towards the exit, trusting Changbin not to question his tactics. As soon as they made it out the doors, Chan was hollering orders.

“Minho! Jisung! Block the fucking doors!” He screamed as they raced towards the forest, feeling a sharp gust of wind and the faint rumble of the earth beneath him as the five(ish) of them fled. Chan sent out a silent prayer that the kids he freed had made it out safely as they tore through the shrubbery, putting a safe distance between them and District 9.

**Woojin**

Woojin knew something was wrong even before the door slammed open. Shouting for Jeongin to come in, the younger had only just made it into the kitchen when Chan barged into the room, carrying an unconscious boy in his arms.

“What happened?” He asked as they carefully laid him down on the cleared table. The boy was covered in lacerations and bruises and his breathing was shallow. His golden hair was dull, and his skin was pallid. Wherever he had been, the boy had not seen much light.

“I found him locked behind a steel door, I don’t even think there was a bed in there.” Woojin cursed as he tore open the boy’s shirt, placing his hands on his heart, feeling a faint beat beneath his fingers. The boy was thin, all protruding bones and tight skin.

“Jeongin, I’m going to need your help for this.”

“What’s going on?” Hyunjin’s voice called quietly into the room. Dimly, Woojin heard the footsteps of the others as everyone started crowding into the kitchen.

“Chan.”

“Everyone else out, I’ll explain later but Woojin needs space.” Woojin cleared the small smile across his face as he set to concentrating on the boy in front of him. Drawing on his and Jeongin’s energy, Woojin channeled his powers and let the warm current flow through him and into the boy.

Slowly, the boy’s breathing began to even out and his skin began to heal over. Woojin could feel his energy draining as the boy’s body slowly regained strength. _Whoever was holding him certainly gave no shits about keeping him alive._

Once he was sure the boy was stable, Woojin took a step back from the table, steadying himself against the wooden chair beside him, the green glow fading from his eyes. Jeongin looked up at him worriedly.

“Is he going to be alright?” Woojin smiled, lifting the boy into his arms and gently laying him on the couch.

“Yes Jeonginnie, he’ll be fine. Now let’s go talk to Chan and the others because I can physically feel him leaning on the kitchen door.”

Woojin was right about Chan. It was written all over his mate's face when they squeezed into the hallway. Woojin cocked an eyebrow and smirked at Chan's responding blush.

“So, what happened?” Seungmin piped up, eyes flaring impatiently. All faces turned towards Chan and the others.

“We were doing the quick hit that Jackson assigned us last week. I was on my way to the Research Area when I found a bunch of kids locked up in cells. I thought I’d freed all of them but one of the prisoners pointed out this big ass steel door at the end of the hall. It was so dark down there I wouldn’t have even noticed it if she hadn’t pointed it out. I thought he was dead he was so still.” Woojin watched sympathetically as the others flinched, gently moving to wrap his arm around Chan’s waist.

“Well there’s nothing more we can do about the situation now, he’s stable for now but it’s going to be a while before he wakes up. Let’s all get some rest in the meantime.” The others nodded in agreement, all filing off into their rooms. However, Woojin didn’t miss the look on Changbin’s face as he cast his eyes back towards the kitchen door before disappearing into his and Jisung’s room.

**Jisung**

Jisung pretended to still be sleeping when he sensed Changbin’s movements across the room. He watched the older make his way across the room and creep into the hallway, taking care to shut the door quietly as he made his way out. _Is_ _he going to the bathroom or something?_ After waiting for a justifiable amount of time, Jisung made his way into the hallway, promptly smacking into Minho as he turned towards the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” Minho whispered.

“Spying on Changbin, what are you doing?”

“Also… spying on Changbin.”

“You must've read my mind.” Jisung winked. Minho scowled but remained silent, turning back towards the kitchen door. The only room between Jisung’s and the kitchen was Hyunjin and Jeongin’s. Lucky for them, Hyunjin was a famously heavy sleeper and Jeongin always fell asleep listening to music or watching shows. There was almost no chance they’d get caught. Easing the door open Jisung leaned on top of Minho as they peered into the kitchen, relishing the warmth of the other underneath him. However, the feeling was soon forgotten as he beheld the scene in front of them.

“Is he… watching that guy sleep?” Jisung whispered incredulously.

“Oh my god.” Before Minho could say anything else, Jisung was racing back into his room, grabbing his phone off the bedside table. Upon return, he leaned back over Minho and positioned the phone’s camera in the crack of the door, snapping at least a dozen pictures before pocketing the phone.

“Changbin is going to murder you.” Minho whispered, smothering a giggle.

“Only if he can catch me.”

Together they backed away from the door, closing it with a barely audible _click_. They faced each other, grinning. Jisung tried to ignore the stutter his heart gave at the shadow of Minho smiling at him in the dark. And tried even harder to ignore how close the other was to him, only a few inches of space between them.

“What were you doing awake anyways?” Minho asked, peering at him curiously as they made their way to Jisung’s door. “You don’t usually sense people moving around unless they’re outside.”

“Oh…I just woke up randomly.” Minho cocked an eyebrow at him.

“Jisungie, you’re a terrible liar. It was the nightmares again wasn’t it?” Jisung looked away.

“Look hyung, it’s fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“If it was fine then I wouldn’t have overheard Changbin telling Chan you’d woken up screaming _again_.” Jisung flinched at the emphasis on ‘again’. He was usually pretty good at not disturbing Changbin, a notoriously light sleeper. But unfortunately for the both of them, Jisung’s nightmares had been increasingly bad over the past week. He sighed.

"And what about you, huh? Your eyebags are darker than Changbin's hair." Minho scoffed and waved his hand dismissively.

"I'm fine. You're the one I'm concerned about." Jisung huffed, but let the subject drop. Minho would never admit he was struggling.

“And what do you suggest I do about it? Changbin can only help so much before it makes his nightmares worse. I won’t keep making him do that to himself.” Minho looked him straight in the eyes.

“Then ask me.”

Jisung’s brain short-circuited.

“W-What?”

“Ask me for help, I can’t do much, but I can keep you company.”

“Like… in bed?” He genuinely couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Yes, like in bed, since when are you so deaf? I thought you had super hearing.” Minho was _blushing_. _This must be a dream_. Truthfully, this scene had played out in his head several times since he met Minho, but never in his wildest dreams did Jisung think it would actually happen in real life.

“Eager to climb in bed with me hyung?” He smirked. Minho sputtered.

“I can’t believe I tried to be nice to you, you brat. I’m going back to bed.” Minho started to turn back down the hall.

“Wait!” Jisung whispered, grabbing Minho’s wrist. The older turned back to look at him, eyebrow cocked, Jisung blushed and looked away.

“Can you stay?” Minho rolled his eyes but smiled faintly as he pulled them into Jisung’s room.

“If anyone sees us, you forced me to do this.” Jisung chuckled softly, crawling back under the sheets. The mattress dipped slightly as Minho settled next to him, lying so they were back to back. Not exactly what Jisung had always dreamed of but it was better than nothing. With a soft smile on his face, he fell asleep to the sound of Minho’s even breathing.

____________________________________________

“Oh my god, Jin look.” Jisung cracked his eyes minutely as he heard Chan’s whisper from the entrance of his room; immediately registering an unfamiliar warmth wrapped around him. _Holy shit._

“Oh, this is priceless. Minho is going to kill us.”

“Worth it.” Jisung registered the sound of his door clicking shut before falling back into a blissful sleep.

**Changbin**

Changbin woke with a jolt to the sound of Chan and Woojin going into the kitchen. He was lying in the battered red loveseat they had stolen from an abandoned inn when he, Chan, and Jisung had first moved into the house. Changbin tried to recall what he had done last night.

Unable to sleep, he had gone to the lounge to check on the boy they had rescued. _Oh my god._ Changbin’s head shot up. Lying on the couch across from him was the boy, all freckles and rose gold hair. _I watched him sleep._ He hadn’t meant to, but a few seconds had turned into a few minutes and before he knew it, Changbin had fallen asleep watching over the boy as he slept. He was just so… enchanting. _No_ , Changbin stood up, _not enchanting, get a hold of yourself man._

He came into the kitchen and found Chan and Woojin giggling manically over something on Chan’s phone.

“What are you two crazies up to now?” He asked, grabbing the coffee jar out of the pantry. The two of them looked up at him, their eyes full of glee.

“You will never believe what Chan found this morning.” Changbin raised an eyebrow.

“What?” Chan made a gesture and Changbin walked over to the island and peered over his shoulder at the image on the screen.

“Oh my god.”

“That’s what we said!”

“Minho is going to kill you.”

“That’s also what we said!” Changbin laughed and went back to the counter, filling the jug with water. Seungmin and Jeongin were going to be attempting to wake Hyunjin up soon, and nothing short of a caffeine injection straight to the bloodstream would keep him fully conscious. Hyunjin had slept through an entire earthquake once when a group of vagrants had tried to break into the house a few months ago. The others had found the whole thing pretty entertaining, while Seungmin had spewed an impressive number of curse words at him for being so useless. They'd duked it out for over an hour before returning to the kitchen, all smiles.

Woojin had just disappeared to check on the boy when Minho and Jisung stumbled into the kitchen, both looking mildly flustered.

“Sleep well?” Chan asked, making an impressive show at keeping his face neutral. The two of them blushed.

“Yeah, I slept fine, but I’m not sure I can say the same about Changbin hyung seeing as he disappeared from the room last night.” Changbin turned back towards the jug as all eyes in the room turned to him..

“If you were so lonely Jisung, you should’ve just gone and kept Minho company, I’m sure he would’ve appreciated it.” Changbin sent a prayer of thanks to Woojin as he re-entered the kitchen with a calm smile on his face. Woojin was like a magic charm when it came to silencing arguments. No one dared challenge Woojin. Somehow, the oldest always managed to know everything that went on in the house. And some things were better left unsaid.

“How’s the kid?” Minho inquired, moving beside Changbin to make himself a cup of coffee.

“Still sleeping. He was in pretty bad shape, so I can’t really say for certain when he’ll wake up.”

“Does he have a name or anything?” Changbin asked, trying not to sound too interested. Chan shrugged.

“The only thing the girl said to me was ‘Felix’. That would be my best guess.” _Felix_. Changbin thought. _That’s_ _a_ _nice_ _name_. The slamming of the kitchen door made Changbin jump, spilling is coffee on the counter. _Shit_. No one even registered Jeongin as he walked in the room, eyes darting across the kitchen in search of the jug. He was followed by a dead looking Hyunjin being pushed into the room by an exasperated Seungmin.

“Did we hear you guys talking about the guy in the lounge?” Jeongin piped as he squeezed between Minho and Changbin to get his hands on the jug.

“Yeah, we’ve decided to call him Felix until he wakes up. Now all of you get out so I can make breakfast.” As the leader, Chan had been named the cook of the house. The title had lasted all of five minutes until he set the pan on fire. After that, Woojin had taken over.

The dining room wasn’t much of a room as it was an area on the other side of the kitchen with a biggish table and a lot of chairs. They gathered around and chatted amiably as the smell of food began wafting through the air. Eventually Woojin came over, carrying a plate full of omelettes and other foods.

“Alright heathens, it’s breakfast time.” He announced, setting the food out in front of them. They were laughing as they ate, buried so deep in breakfast that they failed to notice the dimming lights until Jeongin looked up at the ceiling with a curious expression on his face.

“Chan, are the lightbulbs dying?” Chan frowned.

“No, I grabbed a whole box of new ones last week.” Suddenly, a crashing sound came from the lounge, everyone shot up out of their chairs and Changbin raced into the other room, followed closely by Chan and the others.

Standing in the middle of the room was the boy, Felix, surrounded by a wall of blinding light.

“Where the absolute _fuck_ am I?”


	2. Question

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inside my head too many questions...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so this actually came out quicker than expected. I’m sorry about the spelling mistakes I wrote the whole thing on my phone which is more difficult than I had originally thought. Anyways please enjoy.

* * *

**Felix**

When Felix woke up, he knew he wasn’t in his cell anymore. He was lying on an old looking leather sofa, the plush upholstery a vast difference to the cement floors of District 9. He sat up slowly, bracing himself for the pain, but it never came. _What’s_ _happening_? Felix looked around, squinting.  _It’s_ _so_ _bright_ _in_ _here_. All the curtains were open and the lights were on, illuminating the room with a blinding white light. There were faint voices drifting through the walls.

Whatever this was, it had to be a trap. Felix knew better than to actually believe he had somehow been rescued from District 9. This had to be a test. To see how he would react given the chance to be free. Felix didn’t know where he was or what he was supposed to do to pass. All he knew was that he needed to get out.

As he began looking around, Felix felt his resolution begin to crumble, making way for panic. There were only two options, the windows or the doors. If he climbed out through the windows, he might trigger a silent alarm. If he tried to sneak out through the either of the doors he would probably walk right into a room full of people. _Shit_.

The lights in the room began to flicker and drain as he desperately tried to put together a way of escape. He needed to find a way back to the facility. Or at least a way out of this building. Otherwise he’d be punished for his failure. Pulling himself off the couch, Felix was met with a wave of dizziness. He stumbled, crashing into a coffee table situated in between the cluster of lounge chairs.

That was a mistake.

Suddenly the voices ceased, replaced with the pounding of footsteps as the people in the other room came for him. Channeling what he could of his abilities, Felix put up the first thing he could think of, a wall. The door flew open.

At the front of the group was a boy that couldn’t have been much older than Felix. _He’s_ _so_ _pretty_. Felix thought, glad to see his good sense persevered even in the face of danger. However, the irony was soon lost on him as the rest of the group stumbled into the room behind him looking defensive. Trying not to sound as panicked as he felt, Felix mustered a few courageous words.

“Where the absolute _fuck_ am I?” _Or_ _not_.

A different boy stepped out from the horde, his face kind as held his hands out toward Felix in a placating gesture. Felix noticed a strange tattoo on his hand as he eased closer.

“My name is Woojin.” His voice was mild, expression friendly as he gestured back towards the group. “They rescued you from District 9 last night. You’ve been asleep for a while.” Felix eyed them and took a step back, increasing the gap between him and Woojin. He needed to keep a safe distance if he stood a chance here.

“How am I supposed to believe a word you say? This could just be one of the District Council’s conditioning tactics.” Woojin looked puzzled.

“Conditioning tactics?”

“Yeah. You make me think I’m safe. I let my guard down. You all attack me. I fail the test.” Woojin’s eyes widened.

“They do that now?”

“Yes. So, unless you have any proof that I’m not drugged to high heaven, then I won’t be taking any chances.” Woojin looked thoughtful for a moment, before he shrugged and took a step back, waving his hand towards the door behind Felix.

“Well then, I suppose you’re free to go.” Felix looked at him, then back at the group, who looked as shocked as he felt. _There’s_ _no_ _way_ _they’re_ _just_ _going_ _to_ _let_ _me_ _leave_ , _it’s_ _too_ _easy_.

“Hyung we can’t just let him leave, he’s still healing!” An indignant voice cried from the back of the group. There was a small scuffle as a younger looking boy came to stand between Felix and Woojin, eyes wide as he turned to face Felix.

“Please let us help you. Woojin’s a healer. I promise we won’t hurt you.” The sincerity in his voice had Felix second-guessing. The boy took a step forward. Felix took a step back.

“It’s Felix-ssi, right? The girl who showed Chan where you were said that was your name.” Felix gasped. _Woojae?_ Felix took another step back, staggering. The wall of light in front of him flickered dangerously as his brain clouded.

“Felix…” He tried to take another step back, but the dizziness won over. There was no stopping Felix as his legs buckled underneath him and his wall of light flickered out.

**Changbin**

Jisung was the first to react when Felix dropped. A gust of wind tore through the lounge, catching him before he could crack his head on the corner of the table. Jeongin ran forward, grabbing onto Felix and gently guiding him to sit back down on the couch. Felix looked up at them, wide amber eyes shining gold in the morning light. Changbin felt his own legs threaten to buckle.

“Jeongin _tried_ to say you were still healing.” He said pointedly, standing a little taller to force some semblance of stoicism in front of the other; because those _eyes_ were looking right at him and suddenly Changbin couldn’t _breathe_. Felix stared up at them curiously, obviously wondering why they hadn’t started attacking him. He licked his lips. _Oh_ _my_ _god_. Changbin looked away.  _How_ _the_ _fuck_ _am_ _I_ _supposed_ _to_ _look_ _at_ _him_ _when_ _he’s_ _doing_ _that_.

“Jeongin and I will take him to my room.” Woojin announced. “He can stay there for a couple of days until he’s feeling better.” The others all nodded, shuffling out of the lounge to give the three of them some space. Changbin didn’t move, still staring at Felix as his eyes darted around nervously, tension coming off of him in waves as Woojin moved to help him up.

“What are you going to do to me?” He said, keeping his eyes trained on Woojin as he came closer. Woojin’s expression remained serene.

“I’m going to heal you. You were in pretty bad shape when Chan brought you in. You still need a bit more treatment.” Felix’s eyes narrowed. _Looks_ _like_ ‘ _treatment_ ’ _wasn’t_ _the_ _right_ _word_ _there_. The lights above Changbin began to flicker, Woojin froze.

“I’m not going to hurt you Felix, you’re safe here.” Before Changbin could really process what he was doing he started moving towards Felix. The flickering increased in warning, but Changbin didn't care. Standing in front of Felix he placed his hands on the other’s shoulders and took a deep breath.

Dipping into Felix’s emotions, Changbin honed onto the boy’s fear and began to _pull_. Slowly, Changbin felt the tension leave Felix’s shoulders, a sigh escaping the boy’s lips as Changbin drained his fear. The lights stopped flickering. Changbin released Felix, who looked up at him, eyes comically large.

“What did you just do?” Changbin looked away.

“It’s part of my abilities. They feed on dark energy, so I can draw out people’s negative emotions.” Changbin decided not to wait and catch Felix’s reaction, turning on his heel, he walked out through the kitchen. The image of Felix’s amber eyes following him into his room.

_________________________

The next few days that passed were uneventful. Changbin steadily avoided Felix, focusing instead on helping Chan coordinate their next mission, intel gathering from one of the District Council’s separate research facilities.

“We could go at night and sneak in through the shadows.” Chan shook his head.

“The whole place is lit up like a Christmas tree. And they have three separate generators that I would have to blow individually on three opposite sides of the facilities. Even with Jisung running at his top speed, we wouldn’t be able to blow all three before the guards got us.” Changbin frowned. The mission was still a good few weeks off but it was a big one. The District Council had been throwing all of their resources into a new research project, but no one could figure out what it was they were researching.

“Whatever it is, the District Council is convinced that it’ll turn the tables on the entire rebellion.” Jaebum had looked grim when he had assigned them to the mission. They had gone in to report what had happened at District 9, and weren’t surprised to find him already waiting with another file in his hands, detailing blueprints of the facility and guard schedules.

“What if three of us go to each generator, two with an EMP and blow them simultaneously?” Chan looked thoughtful.

“It might work, but I don’t know where we’ll get our hands on EMPs when the District Council is locking down on all tech shipments coming in and out of Seoul. In an ideal world we could just walk in there in broad daylight and I could just fry the security system instead of the whole facility.”

“Well we- “ Changbin was interrupted by the door slamming open, Hyunjin and Seungmin appeared in the doorframe wearing matching grim expressions.

“Woojin wants to know why you’re not at dinner.” They flinched. The two of them had been locked in the office all day. Jisung had been with them at one point, but left when Minho stopped by looking for someone to go loot some groceries with, not even sparing them a second glance. Dimly, Changbin realised that they’d forgotten to eat.

“Tell him we’re coming.” Seungmin cocked an eyebrow.

“Hyung seriously, Woojin’s been giving us the Danger Eyes all day. If we don’t come back with you two, he will fucking destroy us.” Chan sighed and Changbin tried to suppress a shiver as they left the room and made their way into into the dining room. Woojin was standing at the head of the table, arms crossed. Changbin willed himself not to stare at Felix, whose eyes were boring a hole straight through him. This was the first time he had seen the other since he’d walked out.

“Glad to see you two could join us. I was beginning to think you had died in there considering you’ve been gone _all_ _day_.” Minho and Jisung sniggered. Chan and Changbin shot them twin glares but stayed silent. It was safer than further provoking Woojin. None of them had ever seen the oldest lose it and no one was eager to witness it. The two of them moved to take their seats, Chan sat on the opposite head of the table to Woojin, taking the brunt of his irritated glare. Changbin searched for his spot and found it had been taken by none other than Felix himself. Now, there was a treacherous looking stool seated next to the boy that no doubt had been picked out by Jisung and Minho just for him.

Taking care to sit as far as he could from Felix without seeming obvious, Changbin proceeded to inhale dinner, his appetite having done a 180 at the smell of Woojin’s barbecue pork. The others tried to initiate conversation with Felix, asking him how he was feeling, if there was anything he needed, occasionally asking what it was like to live in District 9. The boy didn’t say much, but he kept a tight smile on his face to show his hosts that he was grateful for their attempts at hospitality. As Chan and Jeongin stood to take the plates, Woojin turned on Felix, his kind smile returned.

“Why don’t you get a house tour from Chan? You haven’t seen much of the house outside of our bedroom and you should familiarise yourself.” Felix looked like he was going to say no, but Woojin widened his smile further and Felix shifted uncomfortably.

“Sure,” he said, expression even tighter, “why not?”

As soon as the boy left the room; Chan chatting animatedly behind him about the idol career he would’ve had if the world hadn’t gone and shat itself, Woojin turned on Changbin, smile gone.

“You’re avoiding him.” Changbin’s eyes widened.

“No, I’m not!” He felt everyone else’s eyes on him.

“Yes, you are. Don’t think I didn’t see you literally turn yourself into a shadow when we came past you yesterday. I know he’s new to the house but he deserves to be here, and you know that. So why do you have a problem with him?” Changbin looked around at everyone anxiously, before gesturing towards the kitchen door.

“All of you, out.” Jisung’s mouth dropped. Jeongin whined.

“Hyuuung, why do we have to go when things are just getting good?” Woojin just shrugged.

“Come on guys. Out you go.” The others grumbled and trudged out the door, shutting it with an exaggerated _click_. Woojin turned back on him. Changbin sighed.

“He’s unnerving me.” Woojin look confused.

“What?”

“I don’t know. Just the way he looks at me, it’s like he’s seeing into my soul. And like, who has eyes that pretty anyways? That can’t be real. And freckles? No. It’s just weird and unnerving.” Woojin’s smile was blinding.

“Oh my god. You think he’s cute.” Changbin spluttered.

“W-what? _No_. He’s just unnerving, I don’t think he’s cute, hyung, I don’t even _know_ him.” Woojin started cackling.

“I can’t wait for everyone else to hear about this.” Changbin shot up.

“Hyung _no_. Don’t you fucking dare!” But Woojin was already out the door.

**Felix**

Chan showed Felix around the entire house, from the unused broom cupboard to the basement filled with various old arcade games and a karaoke machine. The size of the house was more impressive than Felix had assumed. According to Chan, he, Jisung, and Changbin had found it abandoned while on the run from District 7. What had started as temporary squatting ground had turned into a home for them and the rest of the members of their group. Felix took care to memorise the layout of the house. Even though he was no longer convinced that he was trapped in a simulation, it couldn’t hurt to know the escape routes.

“So, what do you do exactly?” Felix asked once they’d settled underneath the big birch tree that adorned the front of the house. It was probably a bit too close to the house to be safe, but Chan didn’t seem too bothered by it, so Felix didn’t bring it up.

“Well,” Chan started, “we’re part of a rebellion dedicated to unmasking the District Council and showing the world what it is they really do in those facilities. Our group is codenamed 'Stray Kids', we focus mostly on rescuing kids, intel gathering, and stealth missions.” Felix watched in awe as Chan continued to name the other groups that worked for the greater rebellion and what they all contributed to the grand scheme of everything. He was amazed at the amount of kids that either managed to escape or avoid the District Council.

“We work under one of the core groups that make up the rebellion. They call themselves GOT7. Super imaginative once you realise it's a seven member group. Jackson was the one who assigned us the mission that ended with you almost blinding us.” Felix winced.

“I thought I apologised for that.” Chan cocked an eyebrow at him, an indignant scowl crossing his face.

“Nope. As I recall, you almost passed out and I had to sleep on the couch for 2 days so Woojin could take care of you.” Felix couldn’t hide the smile that came at Chan’s put-out expression. Chan hadn’t argued when Woojin insisted on giving Felix their bed to fully recover. No, the line had been crossed when Woojin declared that he would be _sharing_ their bed with Felix in order to keep an eye on him. The battle between them had been epic.

“You just don’t want to sleep on the couch, do you?” Woojin scoffed.

“Oh, come on, do you really think I’m that pretentious?”

“Well I can’t help but wonder why you would rather spend two nights sleeping in bed with a _stranger_ , no offense Felix, than two nights in the lounge with me.”

“Because I am _healing_ him you utter buffoon. Why in God’s name would I willingly sleep with someone else? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, seeing as your brain has obviously been replaced with a fucking cement block, but I’m your _soulmate_. I have no reason to go around inviting people into our bed.” Chan stuttered.

“But I- “

“NOPE. No ‘buts’, no ‘how comes’, and definitely no ‘I can’t help but wonders’ or I swear to god Chan, you will be on that couch for a fucking week.” It was the killing blow. Chan lowered his head apologetically and stammered something about finding a bed for Felix while he was recovering. With that, Woojin had turned back to Felix, his usual serene smile plastered neatly across his face as he guided Felix down the hall.

“I'll be honest, I just really hate sleeping on that couch. Let’s find you something more comfortable to wear, shall we? I think you’ll fit Changbin’s clothes, he loves oversized things.”

Felix’s new bed had been moved into Jisung’s room the next day.

Chan smiled back at him, obviously pleased Felix was adjusting. Over the past couple of days, the members had been taking extra care to help Felix. Minho and Jisung stopped by both days to keep him entertained, Hyunjin and Seungmin had taken him outside to for fresh air and to get an idea of his surroundings, and Chan and Jeongin sat with him for every meal, telling him every embarrassing story they could think of about the other members. The only one who Felix hadn’t seen was Changbin. _It’s_ _probably_ _for_ _the_ _best_. Felix thought, _I_ _would’ve_ _just_ _embarrassed_ _myself_ _in_ _front_ _of_ _him_.

The first time Felix had seen the other since he had healed him was at dinner. Felix had tried not to be obvious about his staring but in the end it didn’t matter. Changbin had ignored him like he was a fly on the wall.

“Earth to Felix?” Felix started, turning to face Chan who was giving him a concerned look.

“What?”

“I was asking what you think of everyone.” Felix blushed.

“Sorry, I guess I zoned out. Everyone’s been really great so far. But I don’t think Changbin-ssi likes me.” Chan laughed.

“Don’t worry about Changbin. It’s part of his ‘I am dark’ thing. Give it a week and you’ll catch him doing aegyo for an extra slice of bacon.” Felix laughed.

“I bet that’s adorable.” Chan smirked.

“Oh?”

“N-no that’s not what I meant! Please don’t tell anyone I said that.” Chan’s smile widened.

“I won’t tell anyone. But I guarantee Woojin will find out about it. He knows everything that happens in this house.”

Felix groaned. But he couldn’t keep the smile off his face. For the first time he could remember, Felix felt like he was starting to belong somewhere.

**Hyunjin**

“You’re staring at him again hyung.” Hyunjin scowled as Jeongin came up beside him, a cheeky smile etched into his adorable face. After Woojin, Jeongin was the most all-knowing force in the house. He had a habit of catching the members out on just about every embarrassing thing they had ever done. Jeongin was notably famous for discovering Hyunjin’s massive crush on Seungmin before Hyunjin discovered it himself.

“You’re a total brat, you know that Jeonginnie?” Jeongin’s smile only widened.

“Maybe so, but I’m still the favourite.” He winked and looked back out at Seungmin and Chan. They were out in the backyard sparring. It had started off relatively tame until Chan had accidentally singed a diagonal line down Seungmin’s shirt. The latter had howled in rage at the state of his clothes and the two of them had commenced an all-out war. Twenty minutes later, Seungmin’s pants had been singed into a pair of shorts and Chan’s shirt was more holes than actual fabric.

Hyunjin had tried to be subtle as watched from the front porch, pretending to be absorbed in a book he’d ‘borrowed’ from a deserted library. It wasn’t a bad book, but Hyunjin must have reread page 173 over a dozen times. Sometimes, there were things far more important to Hyunjin than finding out if the man really _was_ her father.

“Hi, Chan hyung!” Hyunjin jumped. He hadn’t realised he’d zoned out. He turned to look at Jeongin, waving at Chan and Seungmin as they started to make their way back towards the house. In an attempt to play off his very obvious staring, Hyunjin cocked an eyebrow at the two of them as they made their way onto the patio.

“What happened to you two?” He asked, valiantly trying to keep his eyes off of Seungmin’s too-exposed torso. Chan pouted playfully, an evil gleam in his eyes.

“I thought you were watching us Hyunjinnie. I mean, don’t tell me you’re still only halfway through that book? You’ve been reading it almost every day for two weeks.” Hyunjin’s cheeks instantly set fire as Seungmin looked at him, a devious grin setting on his face. Swiftly spinning in the other direction, Hyunjin marched back into the house calling at the three of them from over his shoulder.

“Sorry Chan hyung, I guess there just wasn’t that much to see.” Chan’s voice was shrill behind him as Jeongin cackled manically and Seungmin let out an indignant cry.

“Come here and say that to my face you brat!”

______________________________

  
“Care to tell me why Chan’s howling at you like a depressed dog?” Woojin was in the living room doing inventory for their first aid supplies. Hyunjin plopped down onto the couch burying his still-burning face into one of the cushions.

“I very strongly implied that he had no muscles.” Woojin sighed.

“You know how sensitive his ego is. He’s going to be complaining about that all day now.”

“I would say 'I’m sorry', but he had it coming.”

“He called you out for drooling over Seungmin again didn’t he?” Hyunjin groaned.

“It’s not that obvious is it?” Woojin looked at him.

“The only one in this house that hasn’t noticed is Seungmin. Even _Felix_ noticed and he’s only been here for three days.” Hyunjin shrugged.

“As long as Seungmin doesn’t notice. I’m happy to continue doing exactly what I’m doing.”

“As long as I don’t notice what?” The two of them jumped as Seungmin came into the living room, followed closely by Chan and Jeongin.

“Hyunjin’s been slowly dosing your food with poison.” Woojin replied without missing a beat. Seungmin raised an eyebrow.

“Really? That’s what I’ve been doing.” He winked. “Maybe we’re soulmates.” Hyunjin rolled his eyes and looked away, trying to hide his furious blush as Chan and Jeongin started cracking up.

“You never know.” Woojin interjected. “I have noticed you watching Hyunjin quite a bit lately. It seems like you can’t stay away.” Hyunjin whipped his head back up to look a Seungmin with a sly grin. This time it was Seungmin who spluttered, confidence out the window.

“I don't have to stand here and fucking take this. I’m leaving now so you guys can’t keep attacking me like this.” The door shut behind him with a prompt slam. Chan and Jeongin exchanged grins and ventured off into the house, no doubt in search of the others to make sure everyone else could embarrass Seungmin. Hyunjin turned back to Woojin, grin still etched into his face.

“I can’t believe you wrecked him like that.” Woojin looked at him seriously.

“You really never know, Hyunjin. I wouldn’t be surprised if you two ended up together.” Hyunjin’s eyes widened and he forced out a laugh.

“Yeah right hyung. I have no chance with him and we all know it.” Woojin stayed quiet.

It was only twenty minutes later that Hyunjin realised that Seungmin had never denied it.

 


	3. Beware

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grr my mind is a mess...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, so that was a good chunk of time without an update. I mean, yikes. My excuse was severe writer’s block and the disadvantage of being in the middle of nowhere Africa. Please enjoy this shambles piece as a makeup and let us all pray I have the motivation to not be as incredibly slow as I was this time.

**Jeongin**

For as long as Jeongin had known him, Chan had had a driver’s license. It wasn’t a _real_ one, obviously, and the fact of that became very apparent whenever he drove.

“So, um,” Felix stammered, craning his neck out from behind Jeongin’s back, “where- where are we going, exactly?” Despite his quiet hesitance, Felix’s deep voice carried easily through the dead silence of the car. Jeongin squeezed his eyes shut as Chan swerved around another corner. Beside them, Changbin wheezed, a victim of Jisung’s ever-tightening grip around his waist.

“Well, first we’re stopping near an old supermarket to drop Seungmin, Hyunjin, and Changbin off for the groceries.” Another swerve. “Then we’re heading to The Hideout for our meeting with Jaebum.” Woojin’s calm voice betrayed none of the tension laid thick in the cramped seven seater. The old people-mover was careening through the abandoned streets of Seoul’s suburbia, empty windows the only witness to Chan’s terrible driving.

They rarely used the car. Finding petrol was always a mission, and its ostentatious maroon colour did nothing for subtlety. But they took it whenever they went into the city, the tinted windows covering up any proof of escaped District kids.

Jeongin blinked heavily, gazing out the window. Houses blurred past the window in a rush of urban scenery. For a moment, he caught his reflection in the window. Dark shadows sat underneath his eyes, evidence of his lack of sleep.

He wasn’t really sure what had happened, he only remembered shooting up in the middle of the night, calling for Hyunjin, asking if he was alright. The older boy had responded by groaning at him and launching a pillow that hit him square in the face; an impressive feat considering he was on the other side of the room. The whole experience had left Jeongin confused. He had been _convinced_ he heard someone crying. Even now, the quiet sobs still rang in his ears.

“Stop here.” Jeongin had just enough time to lift his head at the sound of Woojin’s voice before the entire car gave a violent lurch. Breaks screeched and so did Changbin as the two of them went flying forward, saved only by Felix and Jisung clinging tightly to their waists.

“Okay, seriously Chan. It has been three fucking years. Why are you still so shit at driving?” Seungmin’s voice was sharp and irritated as he shakily slid the passenger door open.

Chan’s head popped into view, a wide smile on his face.

“Because there’s no reason to be good at it.”

“Um… how about, I don’t know, our _lives_? I feel like that’s a pretty good reason.” Changbin muttered. As the shortest in the group, he’d been relegated to the Jisung’s lap in the very back of the car, and thus forced to go without a seatbelt every time they did a group trip. Since Felix’s arrival, Jeongin had been volunteered to join him as a lap sitter.

It was awesome.

The whole car came to life as everyone started piling onto the sidewalk. Jeongin, being the angel he was, allowed Jisung to go ahead of him in climbing over the front row. Once he was halfway over, Jeongin leant over and gave the other a firm shove. Jisung landed on the seats with a _thud_ and an irritated groan.

“Yah! Why are you such a brat, Jeonginnie? It’s beneath you.” Jeongin only laughed, hoisting his leg over the seats and promptly kicking the older boy in the side.

“I’m pretty sure you’re the only thing beneath me, hyung. Besides, at least I don’t have a Wheel of Pickup Lines to use on Minho when I’m bored.” Jisung blushed a furious shade of red and clambered out of the car, muttering something unintelligible under his breath before smacking straight into Minho.

Jeongin cackled so hard he fell off his spot on the chairs.

It didn’t take long to rearrange the car. With three less people to worry about for space, Jeongin was given the entire back row while Jisung was put in between Felix and Minho in the middle row. Jeongin tried not to feel too bad for Felix, who was pressing himself up against the window to avoid the argument raging between the other two.

“Just tell me what you were saying and I’ll drop it!”

“Oh my god, hyung, I wasn’t talking about you. What else am I supposed to say?”

“Bullshit, I know you were talking about me, I literally heard Jeongin say my name.”

“Okay yes, we did mention you, but that’s not what we were talking about!”

“Then what were-“

Minho’s words were cut short by the car lurching forward, tearing away from the sidewalk with a scary groan. In front of him, Jeongin heard Felix whisper a soft ‘Thank god’ and allowed himself a small fit of giggles before another sharp turn dragged the whole car back into silence.

The further the car moved into the city, the more people started appearing on the streets, and the more sensible Chan’s driving became. The cities had become more crowded after all the kids were gone. Jobs needed people and people needed jobs. Some things were just easier than remembering what had been lost.

Jeongin watched Felix stare out the window, eyes wide. Empty two-stories made way for towering skyscrapers and more cars began crowding the streets. Even Jeongin had to admit that no matter how many times they went into the city, he would never get used to seeing all the people. Especially not the tents. Tents littered the sidewalk and dipped into back alleys. People had to walk in single files in front of them because there was no other space on the pathway.

It was a sad reminder that there were those who had lost everything when the kids were gone.

“Alright everyone, masks on.” The car went dark, cars and people and buildings were replaced with grey walls and a poorly lit parking area. Jeongin pulled his face mask up and lowered his cap. As dodgy as it made them look, it was better safe than sorry when it came to travelling around in the city; even under the shelter of an abandoned parking garage.

The door slid open and the others climbed out. They stood waiting for Woojin to pull the old tarp over the car. You know, safety measures. Jeongin looped his arm through Felix’s and shot the older boy a reassuring look. His hair had been pulled back from his face by Changbin’s old beanie, highlighting the way his eyes darted around the garage. _He’s scared_. It was understandable, it had taken several trips into the city for he himself to develop faith in their security.

After several tries, muffled cursing from Chan, and a mini dust tornado curtesy of Jisung, the car sat in a dark corner of the garage covered in a grey tarp that matched the walls. Woojin dusted his hands and flashed a smile.

“Right then, let’s get going.” He called, lacing his fingers through Chan’s. The other stopped his scowling and gave him a soft smile before they made their way to the door on the other side of the lot. Minho took hold of the knob, jiggled it a few times, slammed his shoulder into the middle of the door, and gave the knob a soft twist. With a _click,_ the door swung open, revealing a luxurious cream-coloured hallway.

“What the…”

“Yeah.” Jeongin didn’t even need to look up to sense Felix’s open mouthed stare. “It’s never what you expect.”

**Minho**

Minho never understood why the place had been named ‘The Hideout’. Really, it was an abandoned hotel in the middle of the city that had miraculously managed to escape notice for the better part of five years. Each floor was given to a different group serving under the revolution for different purposes.

Jaebum, the nostalgic he was, had sold off all of the expensive paintings adorning the hallway and replaced it with photos of every group the revolution boasted. Over time, personal photos had been added alongside each group photo and turned the whole hallway into a literal memory lane.

Minho liked to pretend he found it tacky.

Jaebum was waiting for them in one of the three meeting rooms that belonged to the business floor. He was all smiles as he introduced himself to Felix, who still looked like he’d witnessed a murder. Jeongin patted his arm reassuringly and sat them down across the table, Jisung on Felix’s other side.

Jisung right across from Minho.

Minho liked to pretend he found the other annoying.

“So, mission plan briefing, how are things going?” Chan opened his mouth to answer when the door burst open. Minho tried not to roll his eyes at Jinyoung as he collapsed into the empty seat next to Chan, or the way Jaebum smiled softly down at him.

Minho liked to pretend he didn’t mind not knowing his soulmate.

“Go on then, don’t hold back on my account.” Jinyoung grinned. This time Minho did roll his eyes.

“Well we’ve formulated several different strategies for breaking into the facility, but we just can’t blow all three generators in time to prevent the alarms from going off. I’d recommend either letting us use a teleporter or giving this mission to a team that has one.” Minho tried not to zone out whenever Chan went into mission mode, but it was difficult with the leader’s tendency to obsess over details. Minho had heard the same plans on repeat for two weeks and it was safe to say he was done.

“- considered waiting till nighttime so Changbin could sneak us in under darkness, but the whole place is lit up like a Christmas tree.” Minho’s head jerked up at Jisung’s voice piping in. Sometimes, it was easy for him to forget that he was one of the three main strategists of the group.

Minho liked to pretend he didn’t like the sound of Jisung’s professional voice.

“Our best bet would be to go in there during the day, when they’re not expecting to get broken into.” _It’s so weird when he gets serious like this_. “The only problem is, is that there’s no way for us to just walk up to the main building without being seen.” _I_ _wonder_ _if_ _he’s_ _been_ _having_ _nightmares_ _lately_. “We’d have to be invisible or something.” _I_ _mean_ , _he_ _looks_ _so_ _tired_.

“Have you considered going underground?” _You_ _could_ _see_ _those_ _eye_ _bags_ _from_ _the_ _moon_. “They won’t have the sonar system set for that.” _I_ _wonder_ _if_ _it’s_ _stress_.

“I did go over that possibility with Minho briefly, but I don’t think we were able to come up with a plan that could work.” _I_ _wish_ _he_ _would_ _just_ _talk_ _to_ _me_ _about_ _things_.

“What are your thoughts on going underground Minho?” _Changbin_ _would_ _mention_ _nightmares_ _if_ _he_ _was_ _having_ _any,_ _right_?

“…Minho?” _I_ _should_ _ask_ _him_ _about_ _it_ _when_ _we_ _get_ _home_.

“Minho!” Minho’s head jerked up, a hot flush burning his face. Seven pairs of eyes were staring at him with matching confused expressions.

“Oh, um, right, the underground thing, yeah.” _Nice_ _recovery_. “We did consider it, but, the um, the tremors the process would trigger would either give us away or cause them to go into earthquake mode. And we um, we don’t have enough information about their protocols to know what will happen. Yeah.” To Minho’s immense relief, Jaebum nodded and turned back to Chan.

“So is there no other way to get into the facility without blowing the generators?”

“Not unless we walk in there in broad daylight.” Chan shook his head. “Do you have any intel about what they’re researching in there?”

“Word on the street is, they’re looking for soulmates.” Minho turned towards a sudden movement from across the table. Felix’s head had shot towards Jaebum at the mention of soulmates.

“Sorry, um, did you say they were researching soulmates?” Jaebum nodded and gave him an inquisitive look.

“Did you hear about them while you were in District 9?”

“Well, sort of. The last day I was there, they started a new experiment. They had me watching a bunch of other kids get tortured to see if it would trigger something. Before I passed out, my handler mentioned needing to find my soulmate.” Minho schooled his face into a neutral expression. The room was a mixture of shocked and carefully blank expressions. No one ever expected Felix to so casually address the horrible things he went through in District 9. Like it wasn’t the worst of it. Minho understood that.

He also liked to pretend that none of it affected him.

“Oh, right, okay. Did you hear anything else, or was that it?” Felix shrugged.

“That was the first time I’d even heard about soulmates. I assumed it wasn’t a big thing.” Jaebum nodded slowly and Minho turned his gaze to Jinyoung. The other had remained steadily quiet during the briefing. It wasn’t unlike him, but Minho was surprised he hadn’t taken more interest in Felix’s time in District 9, having spent time there himself. Instead, Jinyoung sat dead still, his face void of any expression. Minho wouldn’t have guessed anything was wrong if not for his hands. They were curled into fists, nails digging into the skin of his palms.

Minho flicked his eyes up to Jaebum, who was staring down at Jinyoung, eyes flickering between their usual brown and glowing violet as Chan and Jisung continued to converse. _Interesting_.

“Um, I actually might know a way you can get into the research lab.” All heads turned back to Felix, who looked like he would rather be anywhere else.

“What’s your idea Felix?” Woojin’s voice was encouraging.

“Well, um, it’s kinda hard to explain, but I can show you?” Jaebum nodded and gestured to the open area. Minho didn’t need ultra vision to see Felix’s gulp. The boy made his way to the front of the room and positioned himself underneath one of the fluorescent lights.

Minho blinked.

And then Felix was gone.

“What the fu-“ Jisung cut himself off as Felix reappeared in the same spot under the lights.

“Okay, what was that?” Minho jumped at Jinyoung’s startled voice. Felix blushed and looked down, biting his lip.

“I figured it out a couple of years ago during conditioning. I can manipulate light particles around me so that people can’t see me.”

“Is there anything else you can do?” It was the chattiest Jinyoung had been for the entire briefing.

“Well, I can form laser beams and stuff but that’s still a bit shaky and I don’t want to hurt anyone. I can do this though.” Minho leaned forward with everyone else, anticipation thick in the air. Felix took a deep breath.

And disappeared again.

“Umm, Felix?” Jisung piped up. “Haven’t you already done that?”

“Well, not quite.” Minho spun so quickly he derailed his chair.

“Okay dude, what the fuck was that?” Jeongin was gaping at him, a huge smile covering his face. Felix was standing at the opposite end of the room, looking sweaty and a little pale under the bright lights.

“Well, you know light speed? I can sort of change the way the light moves and move with it. I can also store stuff in some weird light dimension thing, but I haven’t quite figured that one out yet.” Minho didn’t even bother faking apathy. _That's fucking cool_.

“Well Chan, I think I figured out how you can get into that research facility.” Jaebum announced, clapping his hands together. “And on that note, I have another meeting in 5 minutes. I’ll see you guys in a couple weeks.”

Eventually, Chan managed to file everyone back into the Maroon Monstrosity and Minho slumped against the window, welcoming sleep. Instead though, a warm body collapsed against him and it took everything in him not to wrap his arms around Jisung as the other began peacefully snoring on his shoulder.

The last thing Minho heard was Felix asking, 'So what are soulmates exactly?' before sleep overtook him.

**Woojin**

It didn’t surprise Woojin that Felix didn’t know about soulmates. The District Council did their best to keep that little piece of information under wraps. If kids knew there was someone out there who could make them more powerful, they might find it in themselves to rebel.

“No one really knows how it works exactly.” He started. “A lot of what we know comes from experiences. Everything I learned about them came from firsthand experience.”

_____________________________________

  
_2_ _and_ _a_ _half_ _years_ _ago_

Woojin was tired. He was really fucking tired. They had been running for almost 2 weeks and he was running out of choices.

“Hyung, look! That place looks empty.” Woojin turned to where Jeongin was pointing, his hand shaking from hunger and the winter cold. ‘That place’ looked more like a mansion than squatting grounds, but it was close to the woods and Woojin was desperate for sleep.

“Alright Jeonginnie, let’s go there for the night.” Together, the two of them made their way through the snow.

The door was unlocked. _That’s_ _good_ , _it_ _means_ _there’s_ _probably_ _no_ _one_ _here_.

“Fuck, this couch is comfy.” Jeongin announced, collapsing against the leather upholstery. Woojin couldn’t help but smile as he pulled their blanket out of his backpack and draped it over the younger boy, who smiled at him widely.

“You get some sleep, I’ll look around and see if there’s any food we can eat.” Jeongin didn’t need to be told twice. In moments, the boy was fast asleep, his faint snoring barely noticeable over the wind.

In the kitchen next door, Woojin was met with an empty pantry and a clock that told him it was almost one in the morning. _Wow_ , _I’m_ _tired_. Sighing, he made his way into what looked like a long hallway. Most of the doors were closed as Woojin made his way down the corridor. He was about to give up and just pick a random one when he saw the one at the end of the hall was slightly ajar. _There’s_ _a_ _place_ _to_ _start_.

Easing the door open, Woojin crept into the room. The whole front wall was covered in windows, snow and moonlight the only things visible in the heavy winter darkness. He made his way to the window and placed his palm against the windowpane, sighing deeply. His shoulders sagged and he rested his forehead against the cold glass.

“What the fuck am I doing?”

“I was about to ask you the same question.” Woojin whipped around as a desk lamp flickered on by the door. Standing beside it, hand resting against its cream coloured shade, was a boy that couldn’t have been any older than Woojin himself. He was clad in a pair of flannel pyjama pants and little else as he stared dangerously at Woojin from across the room.

Even with menacing bolts of electricity crackling across his skin, Woojin would be lying if he said he didn’t find the boy insanely attractive. Whatever the disease had done to him had left him with a pair of bright blue eyes, enhanced by his dark hair and pale skin. Woojin put his hands up and backed against the window.

“Look, I’m not here to hurt you, my friend and I just needed some shelter for the night because of the snow.” The boy cocked his eyebrow at him and gestured towards the door.

“Out.”

Woojin would never be sure what made him snap then. Whether it was the universe, or his exhaustion, or the way this boy was so rudely kicking him out of this house that definitely didn’t belong to him. But nevertheless, he put his hands down and crossed his arms.

“Okay, dingdong, I don’t know what your problem is right now. I’m sorry I broke into your ‘house’ or whatever you’re calling it, but I have a fifteen year old in that lounge who is starving and will die of hypothermia if he has to spend one more night outside. Now, I may not have any offensive powers or any of that shit, but don’t, for one second, think that you can just chuck us out of here because you had first dibs. Because I am tired, and hungry, and frankly sick of the shit that life is putting in my fan; I can, and will, beat your ass if it means my kid gets real sleep and some food in his stomach.”

The boy gaped at him, all pretense of stoicism forgotten. Woojin had to admit there was something nice about the way he’d managed to stun him.

“Um, sorry, I guess I just, um, assumed that you were, uh, trying to attack us? If you- if you need food and stuff we have some spare food, I think, in the um- the basement.” Woojin smiled, relief coursing through him.

“Thank you. I’m sorry I snapped at you but it’s been a stressful couple of weeks.” The boy cocked his head and looked at him inquisitively.

“Are you running from the District Council?” Woojin nodded. The boy’s expression softened.

“My friends and I ran away six months ago.” _Oh_.

“My name’s Chan, by the way, you guys are welcome to stay here as long as you want.”

Woojin tried to beat away the warmth in his heart.

“I’m Woojin.”

_____________________________________

  
_2_ _years_ _ago_

“Jin.”

“…Yes?”

“Are you asleep?”

“Well I was. What’s up?” The bedroom was dark, but Woojin knew that Chan was shuffling around awkwardly in the doorway.

“I, um, I can’t sleep. And, um, I was just, uh, wondering if maybe, um, I don’t know-“

“Yes, I’ll come sleep with you.” Woojin could practically hear Chan’s smile, the force of it hitting him like a truck even though he couldn’t see it.

They were shuffling into the hallway when they heard a crash sound from the living room. They whipped around towards the door to the kitchen. Three heads popped out of the two spare bedrooms, everyone staring at the door.

“Um, guys, what’s that?” Jeongin’s voice was small.

“I’ll check.” Chan whispered, and edged towards the door.

Naturally, Woojin followed. Creeping through the kitchen, Chan eased the door open and the two of them peeped through the small crack in the door.

“You complete idiot. What if somebody was home?” There were three people standing together in the living room, peering around the room and out the window.

“Well I’m sorry if the door mat was the size of a mountain.” A sigh. Chan looked at Woojin, mirth simmering in his eyes.

“Should we introduce ourselves?” He whispered.

Woojin was suddenly very glad it was dark.

“I think that’s a fantastic idea.” With a dramatic flourish, Chan swung the door open, leaving his hand on the wall to light the living room with a blinding flash. The three figures screeched and jumped towards the door as Woojin marched in.

“For the record, I’m very fond of that doormat. If you’re going to stay here, you’re gonna have to get used to it.” The three of them stared at him for about thirty seconds.

“Are you serious?” The boy at the front asked, his beautiful face scrunched. Chan shrugged.

“I mean, unless you give us a reason not to be.” They continued to gape at the two of them until Jeongin crept in behind Woojin, taking shelter behind the older’s back.

“Are we keeping them?” He inquired, eyeing them from his vantage point. The red-haired boy scowled.

“Do we look like fucking strays to you?” Woojin tilted his head.

“Well, we sort of all are. A bunch of stray kids.”

“Nice name.” Chan nodded. “Anyways, there’s a spare bed in Jeongin’s room and two of you can take the couches. You’re welcome to stay for as long as you like.” The tall boy smiled at them and bowed.

“Thanks. I’m Hyunjin by the way, and this is Seungmin and Minho.” The boy to Hyunjin’s right, Seungmin, scowled at him.

“Don’t go giving our names to total strangers!” Hyunjin rolled his eyes.

“These total strangers are letting us use their house, it’s the least we can do.” Woojin laughed and turned back towards the door.

“I like you.” Jeongin said, pointing at Hyunjin. “You can sleep in my room.” Hyunjin pumped his fists.

“Sweeet, I’ll see you suckers in the morning.” He called, sparing the other two a backhanded wave as he and Jeongin disappeared through the kitchen door. The others grumbled but made their way to the couches.

Woojin giggled and made his way back to the hallway. Once he’d slipped back into darkness he felt a familiar hand grab his wrist. When he turned, Woojin could still make out the lines of Chan’s wide eyes as they stared at him in the dark.

“You’ll still stay with me tonight, right?” Woojin smiled and slid his wrist out of Chan’s grip, sliding his hand into the other boy’s, interlocking their fingers.

“Come on then scaredy cat.” That night, Woojin slept better than he had in weeks. When he woke up with Chan sleeping beside him, arms wrapped around his waist, Woojin knew.

 _God_ _I’m_ _so_ _in_ _love_ _with_ _him_.

_____________________________________

  
_1_ _and_ _a_ _half_ _years_ _ago_

Woojin was tired. He was really fucking tired.

“Come on Jin, please, please just stay with me. Don’t close your eyes, you’re gonna be fine. Okay? Jin look at me, don’t close your eyes.”

All he wanted to do was close his eyes.

“Jin, I swear to god if you die on me now I’ll be so pissed. I’ll take Jeongin’s favourite rug from him and he’ll bitch about it to you for a week. So don’t you dare.”

His chest burned and so did the tears in his eyes.

“Chan?” He croaked.

“Yeah Jin?”

“If- If this is it for me-“

“No Jin, don’t say that, you’re gonna be fine.”

“But Chan if I don’t make it. I- I love you.” He coughed. “I love you so much.”

There was lightning everywhere. Trees were on fire and massive craters were forming around them. Woojin wished he had the energy to calm Chan down, whisper reassurances into his ear until the boy sagged into his arms.

But he was so fucking tired.

“Fuck, Jin.” Chan sobbed. “I- I should’ve told you so long ago. But god, I love you. You’re my rock, and I don’t know how to do this without you, Jin. Please don’t leave me. Please. This is all my fault, I should never have taken you with me. I love you so fucking much Woojin you better not leave me.” His eyes were glowing blue and tears were pouring down his face.

Woojin’s chest burned. He lifted his hand to the back of Chan’s neck and pulled him down.

“I’m so sorry, Chan.” Woojin pressed his lips against him and everything went dark.

_____________________________________

Suddenly, the world was on fire.

Woojin’s chest burned. Then his hand burned. And he opened his eyes and everything was burning.

And Chan’s head was on his chest. Body shaking with sobs.

Woojin lifted his hand and brushed it softly through the other boy’s hair. His head jerked up, and he stared at Woojin, eyes still glowing.

“Jin?”

“Chan?” Woojin brought his hand to his chest and felt for the pain. But it never came. “What-What happened?”

“I have no idea." Chan muttered, eyes darting over Woojin. "But your eyes are blue... and I think we got matching tattoos.” Woojin peered down at where his hand rested on his chest, Chan’s had moved to cling to it tightly. A golden band circled each of their wrists, coming to a point on the top of their hands where an orb of green and blue swirled together.

It was the most beautiful thing Woojin had ever seen.

“You know Chan, if you wanted to get matching tattoos with me, you should’ve just asked.” Chan gave a watery laugh.

“Would you have said yes?” Woojin smiled and pulled Chan back down to his lips.

“Definitely not, but I would’ve been very flattered.” He whispered, pressing his lips softly against Chan’s, the way he’d wanted to for  _so_ _long_.

“Also next time you want to go on a pair’s mission, take Changbin or something. I never want to do this again.” Chan laughed again, and pulled Woojin into a sitting position, wrapping his arms around him.

“It’s a deal.”

When they got back, Woojin moved into Chan’s room, and Jeongin suddenly came into a lot of money

_____________________________________

  
_Present_

“And since then, we noticed stuff like how our powers got stronger and we could heal faster than normal. I can sense his emotions and feel his pain when he's nearby as well, but there’s not much else we know outside of that.”

“Wow, that sounds weirdly amazing.” Woojin laughed and Chan swerved another corner, coming onto the road of the supermarket.

“That’s pretty much exactly how it feels.” The car came to a sudden, violent halt and Chan put the car in neutral. Turning to Woojin, he gave him his brightest smile.

“Let’s not forget what a total Romeo I was, though.” From the back seat, Jeongin snorted.

“Please hyung, I made three hundred bucks off of your lack of ability to take any action on your massive crush on Woojin.” Chan scowled.

“Listen here you-“ Whatever Chan was going to say was interrupted by the vicious sliding of the car door and a violently swearing Seungmin carrying Hyunjin in his arms.

“What happened? Jeongin asked, scrambling into the boot, the door whizzed open and Changbin was hurling groceries in at top speed.

“These, stupid, fucking, bitchass kids tried to keep the whole fucking store for themselves.” Seungmin growled, laying Hyunjin across the backseats. Leaning back out the door, the boy fired a vicious fireball in the direction of the grocery store.

Woojin sighed heavily. Unfortunately, this wasn’t an uncommon experience. A lot of runaways preferred self-preservation over generosity. Slowly, he climbed out of the passenger seat and made his way towards the back. Sure, it was easier to just go out the door, but Woojin enjoyed adding a little dramatic flourish every now and then.

Minho had flattened the first row of seats and Felix and Jisung had evacuated to the curb to make way for Seungmin. Cracking his knuckles, Woojin spread his fingers over the younger boy’s chest and let his energy flow through his finger tips. His eyes flashed blue and he took a deep breath, relishing the feeling of Chan’s accompanying energy. _I_ _don’t_ _know_ _how_ _I_ _ever_ _lived_ _without_ _this_.

After about a minute, Hyunjin let out a small groan and shifted in the seats, curling into a ball.

“Right everyone, that’s that, we’re free to go.” Woojin announced, climbing back into the passenger seat. From the rear view mirror, Woojin could see Seungmin slide into the back row, gently laying Hyunjin’s head on his lap. _He’s_ _so_ _whipped_.

Jeongin and Changbin climbed into the front seat, the youngest settling himself in Jisung’s lap and giving the other boy a cheeky grin. Changbin let out a deep sigh and dropped into Felix’s lap, the latter let out a surprised squawk but was otherwise silent. It was common knowledge that no one sat in Minho’s lap, the only one who had ever gotten away with it was Jisung, but he never pushed his luck.

The car peeled away from the side walk and Changbin let out a shriek, smacking into the window. Despite the situation, Felix’s arms stayed planted to his sides and Woojin smirked. _I_ _knew_ _there_   _was_   _pettiness_ _in_ _there_ somewhere.

**Seungmin**

Seungmin was having a bad day. It started off well. Chan’s shitty driving meant he’d had Hyunjin clinging to him for the entire ride to the supermarket.

That was where it ended.

Almost as soon as they’d entered the store, Seungmin sensed something was off. The weight of unseen eyes pressed down on him. The three of them made eye contact and nodded. They would each make their way down an aisle and grab whatever their baskets would carry.

Seungmin crept down the toiletry aisle, eyes darting around as he piled his basket full of shampoos, conditioners, soap, and other assortments. Chan had once asked him why he always grabbed bulk amounts of lube. Seungmin had given him a long stare.

“Gel ice packs.” It wasn’t a lie. The only thing they’d been using it for was in fact, for gel ice packs. Seungmin and Hyunjin would pour the lube into plastic bags that Hyunjin would freeze in case of minor injuries.

Three months later, the lube started disappearing. Seungmin never asked why. He didn’t need to.

Seungmin was wrenched from his reverie by a sharp pain between his eyes. Suddenly, a shadow darted out in front of him. Seungmin whirled around, dropping Hyunjin’s favourite pine scented moisturiser, hands ablaze.

“Who’s there?” He demanded, stepping in protectively in front of his basket. A figure stepped out into the aisle, a cloud of green gas encircling them. The figure shrugged.

“Just some guy wondering why you’re stealing from his store.” Seungmin barked out a laugh.

“Your store? I don’t think so. Loose goods are any man’s game.”

“Well that’s hardly fair.” A voice crooned behind him, female. Seungmin glanced back, a long, sharp tail was flicking side to side behind her. _Well_ _this_ _is_ _just_ _fucking_ _peachy_.

He didn’t know if there were more of them, but he didn’t really care. Seungmin didn’t like being surrounded.

“Life’s not fair.” He said, pitching his fire ball right into the boy’s gas cloud. The cloud erupted and Seungmin took off, hauling his basket with him, even managing to pocket the moisturiser. Behind him, the two shrieked in an assorted mixture of terror and outrage.

“Hyunjin! Changb-“ He rounded the corner and smacked straight into Changbin. They landed on the ground with a deep _thud,_ groceries clattering to the ground beside them.

“You called?” Changbin groaned, unceremoniously shoving Seungmin off of his chest.

“There’s other kids here, and they’re a pair of real bitches.” He replied, climbing up to start loading the baskets back up with their stolen shit.

“Where’s Hyunjin?” Seungmin shook his head, piling six boxes of Kellogg’s cereal bars back into Changbin’s basket.

“I don’t know, but we have to get the fuck away from here before Skunk Boy and Lizard Bitch come back.”

“You gave them nicknames?”

“Of course I fucking did, now move.” The two of them scrambled away. Sprinting past the butchery, they careened into the children’s aisle. Seungmin’s eyes darted around the aisle, most of the area was shelved, except…

“There.” He pointed.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Without wasting any time, Seungmin ran over and hoisted their grocery baskets into the spot before burrowing down beside them. Changbin squeezed in next to him and together they surrounded themselves with giant teddy bears. _Jeongin would like one of these_.

Under darkness, they waited, staring silently through the mound of bears. It took every ounce of Seungmin’s willpower not to move.

After what felt like an eternity, two silhouettes appeared, Lizard Bitch’s tail swinging coyly behind her.

“Come out, come out.” Her voice crooned. Seungmin shivered, goosebumps travelling up his arms. He made eye contact with Changbin, the older boy nodded.

Slowly, a dark shadow crept along the side of the aisle. Barbie dolls rocked lightly under the force of its power. The two figures made their way down the aisle, completely unaware. From their hiding spot, Seungmin could see that the boy had abandoned his gas cloud. _Glad to see he learned his lesson._

“Aww, did the boys hide with the teddy bears? How brave.”

Seungmin was really starting to hate her.

Apparently, Changbin felt the same way. Like an avenging angel, a wave of darkness rose from the shadows, blocking their attackers from view. Seungmin smiled devilishly at their terrified screams. _Serves them right._

Eventually, the suckers passed out from the terror, screams fading into silence. The two of them climbed out of the teddy bear cage, dropping the baskets on the ground beside them.

“I’ll go find Hyunjin.” Seungmin started, pulling one of the bears out of the cage. “You finish the groceries so we can get the fuck out of here before they wake up. Oh, and take this too.” He hoisted the bear into Changbin’s arms.

“What’s this for?”

“Jeongin.” Changbin smirked.

“I knew you were a softie.” Seungmin scowled deeply.

“Shut the fuck up.” Changbin laughed and turned away, grabbing the rest of the groceries to take to the front. Seungmin turned and stalked down the aisle.

Hyunjin had gone down to the canned goods when they separated, so Seungmin made his way down there first. Peering at the signs that still hung above the aisles, he stopped when he reached ‘Canned Products’. Seungmin turned and froze. Hyunjin was lying motionless on the ground, cans strewn around him.

Seungmin saw red.

“Those motherfuckers are dead.” Sprinting over to Hyunjin, he pressed his fingers to the boy’s neck, heaving a sigh when he felt his pulse, faint but strong.

It was easy enough to figure out what happened. If the huge, red lump on his head was anything to go by; Lizard Bitch had most likely surprised Hyunjin and launched a can at his head with that stupid fucking tail of hers. Looping his arm through the basket of cans Hyunjin had managed to collect, Seungmin gathered the boy into his arms and stood up, wobbling under the combined weight.

“Lay off the fucking Twinkies man, shit.” He muttered, trudging back towards the front of the store.

By the time Seungmin had managed to drag the two of them to the doors, there was a collection of assorted baskets waiting. Most of it was non-perishables. Anything else having gone off years ago when the supermarket was abandoned.

Impatiently, Seungmin waited for Changbin to come back with the last of the groceries. His arms were shaking with the effort of holding Hyunjin and the cans up, but there was no way in hell he would put him down until they were safely away from the store.

After what felt like eons, Changbin appeared, carrying two entire baskets of two-minute ramen.

“That is a fucking joke.” Seungmin rasped, voice straining. Changbin scowled.

“You’re a fucking joke.” He said, eyeing Hyunjin. “And useless to me by the look of things.”

“Lizard Bitch toppled him with a can. Can’t you just do the thing?”

“That’s a fantastic question.”

‘The thing’ was something Changbin had discovered about a year ago when he and Seungmin were practicing baseball. Seungmin had held the bat, ready to swing, but Changbin’s pitch never made it. The ball had disappeared, quite literally, into thin air. After months of trial and error, Changbin had figured out he could store things in a weird inter-dimensional pocket. Even now, it only worked seventy percent of the time.

Closing his eyes, Changbin stretched his hands out. Seungmin held his breath.

Slowly, very slowly, a square-shaped hole formed in front of him, just big enough to fit the baskets. The two of them sighed. Changbin started grabbing baskets, hurriedly loading them into the hole before it closed, even managing to shove Jeongin’s teddy bear in with a bit of effort. After an eternity, he grabbed the basket of cans off of Seungmin’s arm and dropped it into the hole. Seconds later, it closed, leaving the two of them with nothing to carry but an unconscious nineteen year old.

“Am I allowed to help, or will you burn me if I touch him?” Changbin asked, looking down at Seungmin’s trembling arms.

“Just fucking help me.” He growled. Changbin grinned and pulled Hyunjin’s legs out of Seungmin’s hold and held them on either side of his waist. Seungmin readjusted and looped his arms around the boy’s torso. Together they made their way out of the parking lot and down the street to where Chan had left them.

Taking care to stay in the shadows, they placed Hyunjin on the ground, and sat down on either side of him. Chan and the others wouldn’t be back for at least an hour and Seungmin wasn’t in the mood to take another crack at the grocery store.

“So, how’re things?” Seungmin cocked an eyebrow.

“The fuck do you mean ‘How’re things?’” Changbin shrugged.

“Exactly what I asked. I feel like I don’t see you much these days.”

“Hyung, we had an arcade marathon literally last night.”

“Fuck, I don’t know. I’m bored and we never talk about stuff.”

“Stuff like what?”

“Have you told Hyunjin you’re in love with him yet?” Seungmin tensed.

“I’m not.”

“Dude, I’m not blind. Hyunjin may be fooled by your mean act, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us are.”

“Okay, fucking first off, I am not fucking in love with him. He is my best friend, nothing more.” _Liar_. “And fucking second, even if I was, he is very fucking obviously not interested. So there.” Changbin sighed, and lay down on his back.

“Whatever helps you sleep at night. Wake me up if something important happens.” He yawned, and lay down, using his hat as a pillow. Within a minute he was snoring soundly.

Seungmin spent the next hour flicking fireballs across the street. Everything was going pretty smoothly until he heard the shout.

“You really thought we wouldn’t come looking for you?” _For_ _fuck’s_ _sake_. Groaning, he nudged Changbin.

“Are they here?” He mumbled.

“Not quite.” Seungmin pointed at the two very pissed off looking people marching towards them. Changbin groaned.

“I don’t suppose the car is racing towards us at top speed to rescue us from this, by any chance?” Seungmin peered down the street.

“Actually, it is.” Changbin turned and looked at where Seungmin was staring. Sure enough, the hideous maroon mum van was racing towards them with Chan’s usual death defying pace. Changbin stood up.

“Well, looks like this would be a good time to see if I can get our groceries back.” Seungmin gathered Hyunjin into his arms and hoisted him up. He looked back down the street where the other two were approaching. They had broken into a run when they saw the van and were steadily gaining on them.

“Changbin.”

“I’m trying.”

“Try faster.”

“Fuck off.” Like a blessing from above, the car screeched beside them. Seungmin carried Hyunjin to the curb and slammed the door open.

“What happened?” Jeongin’s voice was faint from the boot of the car. Felix and Jisung scrambled out onto the sidewalk to make way for Seungmin while Minho flattened the seats.

“These, stupid, fucking, bitchass kids tried to keep the whole fucking store for themselves.” He shouted, laying Hyunjin across the back row. Leaning back out the door, Seungmin launched a vicious fireball at the two shit heads, who jumped away with a screech.

Changbin had obviously managed to resummon the groceries because he and Jeongin were hurling them into the boot. Woojin climbed past him and placed his hands on Hyunjin’s chest. The ugly red mark on his forehead faded to a dark bruise and Hyunjin let out a soft groan, curling into a ball.

“Right everyone, that’s that, we’re free to go.” He announced, climbing back to the front. Without hesitation, Seungmin climbed into the back row. Sitting down, he lifted Hyunjin’s head to rest on his thigh, and carded his fingers through the boy’s hair. _Fuck_ , _I’m_ _whipped_.

The car eventually peeled away from the curb and Changbin hit the window with a dramatic slam. Seungmin let out a deep sigh and leaned back against the chair, relishing the softness of Hyunjin’s hair between his fingers.

“So what’s up with the giant teddy bear?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean, what a mess. Hope you guys enjoyed!
> 
> Jaebum - Elemental transmutation  
> Jinyoung - Absolute restoration
> 
> In other news, I sorted out like 100 characters and gave them all their own powers so if you’ve never heard of some of these, just know I found them on superhero wiki at ass o’clock in the morning.


	4. Awaken

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Awaken, tears are falling...
> 
> I’m afraid, there’s a voice ringing in my head,  
> Wake up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried, I really did, but I think we can all establish the fact that I can’t update quickly at all. I hope for all of your sakes that this is actually getting good, and not a complete disappointment considering the wait.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Hyunjin**

Hyunjin was asleep when the car parked. The only reason he didn’t _stay_ asleep was because Chan was the one parking the car.

“Is he awake?” Jisung’s voice inquired somewhere in front of him. A warm hand carded its way through his hair.

“No.” _Seungmin?_

“Should we just wake him up?”

“Even if we tried, it wouldn’t work. He sleeps like a fucking dead person.” _Okay_ , _rude_. Shifting, Hyunjin pushed himself forward, lifting his head above Seungmin’s lap. Carefully, he ~~slammed~~ dropped his head between his legs.

He felt, more than heard, Seungmin’s pained groan.

“You have to admit, you had that coming.” Jisung’s voice was brimming with mirth.

“Shut the fuck up.” Seungmin muttered.

Before Hyunjin knew what was happening, a pair of arms lifted him up. He was soon met with a very _warm_ and very _solid_ chest.

Hyunjin liked to believe he was an opportunist. When presented with a good opportunity, naturally, he would step up and take it. Hyunjin also liked to believe that this situation qualified as an opportunity.

Rocking peacefully in Seungmin’s arms as he walked; Hyunjin burrowed himself into the other’s shirt, clinging to the soft fabric.

At some point, they made it to his room. Seungmin laid Hyunjin gently onto his bed, even going so far as to adjust his head on the pillow.

“You’re really fucking heavy, you know that?” He murmured, carding his hand through Hyunjin’s hair. Hyunjin was in heaven.

Was.

Seungmin’s hand moved away from his hair, and the bed shifted as he moved to stand up. Hyunjin’s hand shot out and grabbed onto the other boy’s wrist.

“Stay.” He mumbled, tugging gently, not even bothering to open his eyes.

“Jinnie, I’ve gotta go over the ambush at the supermarket with Chan.” Hyunjin only pulled harder on his wrist.

“Make Changbin do it.”

“Hyunj-“

“Stay.” Seungmin sighed, his wrist going slack in Hyunjin’s grip. Hyunjin’s outrageously large queen bed dipped as the other boy climbed in beside him. He wasted no time in wrapping himself around Seungmin, savouring his warmth.

“You’re much nicer than Lizard Bitch.” He mumbled, burying his face in the fabric of Seungmin’s shirt, the smell of strawberries and oranges enveloping him.

“Wait- what did you…” Seungmin’s words faded from Hyunjin’s ears as sleep overtook him.  
_______________________________________

It was still light outside when Hyunjin woke up. _Thank_ _god_. He thought to himself. Seungmin was still fast asleep underneath him. One arm wrapped around Hyunjin’s waist, and the other splayed out beside him. Hyunjin marvelled at the way his hair fanned out across the pillow: a scarlet stain against the white cotton.

Easing himself out of Seungmin’s grip, Hyunjin slid a pillow between the other boy’s arms. He murmured something in his sleep and burrowed his face into the thick cushion. Hyunjin’s heart squeezed.

Silently, he slipped out of the room and into the hallway.

“Wow, hyung. Is this a smash and dash in progress?” Hyunjin sighed. _That_ _little_ _shit_.

“Believe me Jeonginnie, if I had the opportunity to smash that, I wouldn’t be going anywhere.” Jeongin grinned at him devilishly. “What are you up to anyways?”

“I came to get the two of you for mission planning.” Hyunjin frowned.

“Mission planning? What time is it?”

“Five.”

“Well shit, how long was I asleep for?”

“Since we got home?” Jeongin counted his fingers. “About four hours.”

“Damn, Lizard Bitch really knocked a dent in me.” Jeongin snorted.

“No shit. You should’ve seen Seungmin when he got to the car. I swear there was steam coming out of his ears.” Hyunjin chuckled before looking at the door, brows furrowing.

“I think his insomnia is back. I’ve never seen him sleep for so long during the day.”

“It wouldn’t surprise me.” Jeongin shrugged. “He’s probably been stressing about something.” Hyunjin nodded, pushing away the gnawing feeling in his gut. _He’ll_ _tell_ _me_ _eventually_.

“Well, let’s just leave him, Chan can brief him later.”

“Sounds good.” Hyunjin turned to Jeongin and they made their way down the hall.

When they reached the office, everyone else was waiting for them. ‘Office’ was a pretty loose term for the room. In reality, it was an old bedroom that Chan had stuffed with a dining table and some stolen supplies from an abandoned high school near the house.

“Where’s Seungmin?” Chan queried. He was standing at the front of the room, looking every inch their responsible leader. He stood beside his freshly drawn stick-man invasion strategy; his Dora the Explorer themed pointing stick/anniversary present swinging between his fingers.

“He’s still sleeping.” Hyunjin responded, taking his seat. Chan nodded, not pressing further.

“So, we got an update on the research facility mission.” Chan started, pointing at Felix. “Our newest recruit here has turned out to be a real asset. Show ‘em Felix.”

Felix was blushing a violent shade of red as he stood up. The boy took a deep breath. And vanished. Air hissed between Hyunjin’s teeth and he stared wide-eyed at the spot Felix had been standing.

“What is that? Teleportation?” Changbin’s voice was gruff, his face mildly bewildered.

“Not exactly.” Felix’s voice materialised. Changbin and Hyunjin jumped.

“Shit, Felix, are you invisible?” Felix chuckled softly and reappeared in his seat. Changbin gave a startled lurch beside him.

“I guess so, yeah. I can only make myself disappear though, I haven’t gotten the handle of other people yet.”

“That’s something we can work on, though.” Chan announced, clapping his hands together. “In the mean time, I want to go over our invasion strategy.”  
_______________________________________

Seungmin never came into the meeting, nor did he show up for dinner, _nor_ did he come to their Friday night arcade tournament.

Hyunjin always had an appreciation for whoever had owned the house before Chan had found it. They had invested more money in a secret gaming/karaoke space than they had in a living area. But nothing was quite the same without Seungmin’s sore losing.

Hyunjin flopped onto the couch beside Minho. The older boy had his gaze fixed on Jisung, who was in the middle of getting his ass whooped for the sixth time in a row against Woojin in Space Invaders.

“Question.” He prompted, flicking his gaze to Chan and Felix. The two were belting out the lyrics to some obscure girl group on the karaoke machine.

“Shoot.”

“How long has it been since Seungmin’s slept?” Minho sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“At all? Three days. He hasn’t done a full night in a week.” _Busted_. Hyunjin rested his head against the other’s shoulder and felt Minho sag against him. It was a common gesture they shared. Picked up from years of long, torturous days, and a shared bunkbed

“I’ll ask Jeongin to spend a few nights in your room until he starts sleeping again.” Minho nodded against Hyunjin’s hair.

After Jisung’s eighth consecutive defeat, Hyunjin dragged himself off the couch and walked over to where Jeongin had passed out beside Felix. He had to smile at the way the two of them wrapped around each other, clinging onto one another like pillows.

“Come on Jeonginnie, time for bed.” Hyunjin leant over and shook the younger boy’s leg. Instead, Felix shot up, eyes wide. Hyunjin looked up at him and smiled, attempting to keep the shock out of his features.

“Sorry to wake you. I have to get Jeongin to bed, otherwise Chan will kill me.”

“Oh, right.” Felix nodded. “I’ll just go with you, if that’s alright.”

“Of course.” Hyunjin smiled brightly, and winked. “But you’re gonna have to help me get him off the couch. He’s much easier to transport when he’s asleep.” Felix grinned at him and helped Hyunjin gather the youngest into his arms. Together, they made their way over to the stairs.

“Night, losers.” He called over his shoulder.

“Night, dipshit.” A chorus of responses called after him. Felix gaped.

“Don’t worry about the name calling, it’s all friendly. You’ll pick up on it the longer you’re here.” He reassured Felix as they climbed the basement stairs. The other boy smiled and looked down at his feet.

“I guess I still have a lot of things I need to adjust to before I fit in here.”

“Nah, don’t worry too much about it. You fit right in here. It’s just a lot to take in at first.” He grinned and gestured to himself. “People are always overwhelmed when they first behold all of this.” Felix laughed, a full, deep thing that made Hyunjin’s smile soften.

They reached the door to Hyunjin’s room and Felix turned the knob, and pushed it open slightly.

“Thanks for the help.” Hyunjin smiled. Felix shook his head and smiled back.

“No, thank you.” He insisted, and the sincerity in his voice had Hyunjin guessing he was thankful for more than just the walk.

They said their good nights and Hyunjin pushed into the room. With some impressive acrobatic moves, he managed to get Jeongin under his covers. The youngest snored peacefully, grabbing onto a giant teddy bear that Hyunjin didn't recgonise. Dusting his hands off, Hyunjin made his way back to his bed.

Seungmin was still fast asleep. His body curled around Hyunjin’s pillow, and his face serene. Hyunjin’s heart stammered.

Sighing, he crawled onto the bed and eased the pillow out of Seungmin’s grip. The boy groaned sleepily and reached out for his stolen prize. Hyunjin did nothing to stop him from gripping onto the fabric of his shirt and pulling him close. The boy wrapped his arms around Hyunjin and rested his head on his chest.

“What did I do to deserve you?” Hyunjin murmured, running his fingers through Seungmin’s hair. Yawning, he let his head sink into the still-warm fabric of his pillow and drifted off to sleep.

**Changbin**

It had been three days since their meeting with Jaebum, and it was safe to say Changbin was losing his patience.

“That was good, Felix! You made it further than last time!” The aforementioned boy was on the ground in front of Changbin, drenched in sweat. He threw a thumbs up and dropped his head back, panting heavily.

The noon sun was beating down on them, hiding absolutely nothing from Changbin’s vision. Especially not Felix’s recently acquired white T-shirt that was currently soaked and clinging to Felix’s _very_ toned stomach.

“You’re staring.” Changbin jumped and glared at Woojin as he walked past. The oldest gave him a sly grin and knelt down next to Felix.

“Do you need a break?” Felix took another gulp of air and shook his head.

“I’m fine.” He replied and got to his feet. “We’re running out of time and I have to get us halfway across the facility and back, not six metres from the property line.” Changbin had to agree with that.

It had taken Felix two days to manage hiding the five of them. They had spent yesterday just trying to take a few steps, and since then, they’d barely improved.

“We still have a week and a half. Don’t worry about it.” Woojin patted his shoulder and made his way back to the porch. Felix didn’t look convinced. Not that Changbin could blame him. He didn’t see how they were supposed to go from six metres to six hundred in a week and a half.

“Ready?” Chan’s voice inquired beside him. Felix nodded and the rest of them assembled around him. They formed a huddle, Felix, Chan, and Changbin at the front: Hyunjin and Seungmin at the back.

The plan was simple. Once they got into the facility, Hyunjin and Seungmin would drop off the back of the huddle to guard the doors. Felix, Chan, and Changbin would then push forward into the facility. Chan had memorised the layout of the facility, Changbin had learned the guard schedules. It was almost flawless.

Almost.

“And… go!” Felix took a deep breath and they started pushing forward. _One_ , _two_ , _three_ , _four_ … Changbin counted fourteen steps when Felix collapsed beside him.

Before Changbin could finish thinking, _Gunned_ _down_ _on_ _sight_ , Woojin was looping Felix’s arm around his shoulder and helping him up.

“We’re done.” He announced, guiding Felix back into the house.  
_______________________________________

And so became the routine.

Everyday they would gather in the yard to train for the mission, and every day Felix would push himself until he collapsed. Changbin put up with a week of it before he snapped.

“You have to stop this shit.” Felix looked up at him from the ground, eyes flaring.

“Excuse me?”

“You can’t keep pushing yourself like this and then collapsing in the middle of a run. It’s stupid, and if you break in the middle of the mission, we’re all fucked.” From his peripheral vision, Changbin could see Hyunjin, Seungmin, and Chan begin to slowly move away

“Well, I’m sorry. I was a bit busy making sure we actually fucking got there.”

“We won’t get there if you’re too weak to make it.”

“Oh, so I’m weak now?”

“At the moment? Yes. You haven’t given yourself two minutes to recover from the strain you’re putting yourself through.”

“That’s because we don’t _have_ two minutes.”

“No shit. If we did, you might actually be getting somewhere.” Changbin knew that was the wrong thing to say the moment it came out of his mouth.

Felix gaped at him, then his expression turned fierce. He picked himself off the ground and stood not two inches from Changbin’s face, flames roaring in his amber eyes.

“What is your problem with me? You have been nothing but a piece of elephant shit to me since I got here. All I’m trying to do, is make sure we get into the facility without being fucking _shot_. And you’re standing over me, and telling me I’m useless.”

“My _problem_ is that you’re pushing yourself too hard. If you fuck up on this mission, you’re putting my friends’ lives in danger!”

“They’re my friends too, you know. Not that you would. You’ve spent the past two and a half weeks ignoring me and treating me like a dog shit you stepped in!”

“I-“

“No. I’m not done yet. I have had enough of your pissy attitude. If you think I’m too pathetic to handle this, then that is your fucking problem. Either you start treating me like I’m a capable human being or find someone else to do it.” Not waiting for a reply, Felix stormed past Changbin, knocking him with his shoulder. Changbin stared at his back as the blond stalked into the house.

“Hyung.” Changbin turned to Hyunjin, who watched him with a curious expression.

“Was it something I said?” He inquired sarcastically. Hyunjin rolled his eyes and nodded his head further down the massive yard.

“I’m giving you this talk because Woojin is making sure Felix isn’t dead and everyone else is disappointed with you.” He started, staring out into the trees.

“And you’re not disappointed?”

“No, I’m definitely disappointed.” He shook his head, and turned to Changbin.

“You know you acted like a dick over there, right?” Changbin nodded.

“And you know you have to apologise to him, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Why are you acting like this?” Changbin looked away from Hyunjin’s searching gaze.

“Honestly? I don’t know. I just feel this weird _something_ every time I’m around him. It drives me crazy. I feel like he’s hiding something.” Hyunjin snorted and started laughing a little too loudly.

“Okay hyung, first of all, that _something_ , is called thirst. He’s ripped as hell and his voice sounds like one of those old ASMR videos from the internet.” Changbin spluttered, Hyunjin stopped him, putting his hand up. “Second, of course he’s hiding something, he’s living with severe trauma. We all hide stuff from our time in the Districts. Now stop being a douchewad and go apologise.” Changbin opened his mouth to speak, Hyunjin gave him a level stare.

“… Fine.” Hyunjin grinned widely and began dragging him back toward the house.

Felix was in their room. The early afternoon light illuminating his rose gold hair and caramel skin.

“Felix?” The boy turned his gaze from the window and looked at Changbin, expression souring.

“What do you want?” Changbin sighed. _I_ _deserve_ _that_.

“Look, it’s obvious we don’t really get along well.”

“Yeah, and whose fault is that?”

“Mine- Look- I’m trying to say that I’m sorry for what I said earlier.” Felix’s eyebrow lifted.

“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously. I doubted your abilities and didn’t believe in you because I didn’t bother taking the time to know you. I guess. So, I’m sorry.” Felix tilted his head, pondering.

“Apology accepted.” Changbin’s eyes widened.

“Oh- um- okay, right. So um, does that- does that mean you’ll do the mission?” Felix shrugged.

“I was never not going to do the mission, I was just being dramatic. I’m glad it worked though.” He responded, grinning at Changbin’s deepening scowl.

“You’re a little shit, you know that?” Felix beamed.  _The fuck?_

“Good to know. This whole apology doesn't make us friends, though.” 

“Fine by me. Now get off your lazy ass, it’s lunch time.” Felix slid off the bed and cheerfully plodded beside him as they made their way to the kitchen.

**Jeongin**

Jeongin wasn’t a big believer in miracles. Unbelievable things didn’t just _happen_. So whatever the fuck was happening with Felix, definitely had a reason. A fantastic, logical reason.

“Five hundred and thirty… holy shit Felix!” Chan whooped and pulled Felix into a bear hug.

“It’s a fucking miracle!” _Yeah, right_. Jeongin narrowed his eyes at the five of them down on the grass. Hyunjin had dragged Seungmin into Chan’s hug and Changbin stood to the side, smiling at the others. _Interesting_.

Felix had increased his distance by one hundred and twelve steps overnight. Now, with two days left, he still had over one hundred steps still to go.

“That’s quite an improvement.” Woojin stated beside him.

“Indeed, I wonder what could have motivated him.”

“A few encouraging words from a certain someone, perhaps?” Jeongin’s eyebrows went up and he turned his head towards the oldest.

“Oh?” Woojin smirked.

“Changbin and Felix appeared to be almost  _friendly_ yesterday afternoon before lunch.”

“Changbin apologised?” _Very_ _interesting_. Woojin nodded, not taking his eyes off of Chan and the others.

“Yep. One might say it’s a miracle.” Jeongin scoffed.

“We’ll see.”

Three runs later, Felix started swaying. Jeongin’s muscles tensed in anticipation. Beside him, Woojin narrowed his eyes, but he stayed where he was. They watched him group back up with the others before they all disappeared.

Felix made five hundred and forty six steps before finally collapsing. Woojin sighed and Jeongin watched him make his way over to where he sat on the grass. _Five_ _hundred_ _and_ _forty_ _six_ _down_ , _one_ _hundred_ _and_ _fourteen_ to go.

They still had time to train before they went to The Hideout the next day; but Jeongin wasn’t sure Felix could pull another one hundred steps out of his pocket before the mission.

Letting the door swing closed behind him, Jeongin collapsed on the couch, burying himself in the plush black leather. His eyes had _just_ fluttered shut when the door opened.

“So you and Felix are getting along now.” Jeongin’s ears pricked. “I’d guess you either finally confessed your unquenchable thirst for him, or you apologised.” Hyunjin’s voice was hopeful as it travelled past him.

“Fuck off.” Changbin’s gruff voice responded. “I went and apologised. Turns out the little shit only quit the mission for a dramatic walkout.” Hyunjin snorted and the door to the kitchen opened.

“Did he seriously tell you that?”

“Yes, and he had the fat nerve to beam at me when I told him he was a little shit.” Silence.

“…What’s the face for?”

“You have to promise you won’t tell anyone about this.” Hyunjin sighed, his voice turning serious. Jeongin furrowed his brows.

“Um, okay? What’s up?”

“I don’t think he had any friends in District 9.” _Huh?_

“Um… Okay? What about it?”

“Well, Chan said he found him in a locked room at the end of a hallway, not a cell. He thought we were a drug induced simulation because he didn’t believe people could be genuinely nice. And, up until last week, he’d never heard the term ‘dipshit’ used nicely.” _Well_ , _shit_.

“Oh. Okay.”

“It’s just- you probably made his day when you said that.”

“That’s…”

“Unbelievable? Strange? Weird? I know. It makes me wonder why they kept him so isolated.” Before they could say anything else, the door swung open. Chan marched in, followed by Woojin, Felix, and the others.

“Right, everyone. Training tomorrow morning, then we’re going to The Hideout. Pack your bags for the weekend.” Minho cocked an eyebrow.

“The weekend?” Chan’s smile was devious.

“Yes, the weekend. Success or failure, I’d much rather be at a hotel with an open bar than at home. Except Jeongin, who will be drinking in the positive atmosphere, of course.” He added at the warning look on Woojin’s face.

“Of course.” Jeongin agreed, catching Hyunjin’s wide-eyed expression through the shudders as he sat up.

“Anyways, no mission planning tonight, so you’re free to do whatever for the rest of today. I-“ Chan announced, “-am going to have a nap. If I here my door so much as _eek_ open, someone’s getting electrocuted.” Without another word, Chan disappeared through the door.

“ _He_ needs a nap?” Felix muttered, sagging against Jisung’s side. The other chuckled and guided him towards the kitchen. Jeongin pushed himself off the couch and followed them out, wiggling his fingers at Hyunjin and Changbin’s stunned faces.

Jeongin took great pride in his and Hyunjin’s room. Hyunjin had a useful obsession with interior design that resulted in their room being the best looking one in the house.

Nearly all of their furniture was white. The room would have been overrun with it, if not for Hyunjin’s ‘statement pieces’, and the hardwood floor and grey walls. Jeongin enjoyed it, though.

Dropping onto his bed, Jeongin pulled his phone out and waited for Hyunjin.

Approximately two minutes later, the door clicked shut. Jeongin looked up at Hyunjin, eyebrows raised. Over the years, it had become a routine of theirs. Hyunjin had a knack for spilling secrets around Jeongin, and Jeongin had a knack for blackmail.

“Do you not like him?” Jeongin started, putting his phone down. Hyunjin’s eyes widened.

“ _No_ -“ he rushed, waving his hands, “-no, it’s not that- I was just worried about him. Sometimes… sometimes I just feel like things were a lot worse there than he lets on.” Jeongin furrowed his brows.

“I’m pretty sure all of our District lives were worse than we let on.” Hyunjin pinched his nose.

“That’s not what I mean.” He groaned, running a hand through his hair. “I mean, yeah, like, we’re all traumatised and stuff. But it’s like, we all had friends, you know? People we could be honest with. Changbin had Jisung and Chan. You had Woojin. I had Seungmin and Minho. But Felix- I don’t think he had anyone. He was all on his own there. When Chan found him, he was locked in a pitch black room, drugged to the point of nearly _dying_ , starved, and broken. And whenever Chan mentions it, he just shrugs it off like it’s normal. Shouldn’t he be more- I don’t know- traumatised?”

“Maybe he’s just repressing it.” Jeongin shrugged. Hyunjin shook his head.

“No- it’s like- fuck, this sounds bad- but it’s like he thinks he deserves it.”

“Maybe he does. There’s no use stressing about it, the guy’s only known us for a few weeks. He’ll tell us one day. It just takes time.” Jeongin smirked. “In the mean time, I hear Changbin’s been thirsting after him behind all of our backs.” Hyunjin groaned.

“Me and my fucking mouth.”  
_______________________________________

Felix hit six hundred steps before they had to leave.

“At least you get the car ride to sleep it off.” Jeongin offered as Felix dragged himself into the car.

“Not that you’ll get any sleep with Chan’s driving.” Changbin grunted, staring pointedly out the window. The blond paused, halfway across the folded back seats, and looked at him.

“Aren’t you supposed to be sitting with Jisung?” Changbin scowled and pointed to the front of the car.

“Our resident doctor said I had to use the seat so you could rest without worrying about Jeongin.” Felix gave Jeongin a quizzical look. The youngest beamed at him, not moving from his spot on Jisung’s lap.

“Don’t worry, hyung. He’s really strong under all of that shortness. He and Chan are in the gym all the time.” Changbin whipped a glare at Jeongin, who kept his smile firmly pointed at Felix. The boy grinned back at him and climbed onto Changbin’s lap.

“Sounds like a fun bonding experience.” He lilted, pulling a pillow from the top of their luggage pile. Jeongin watched on delightedly as Felix pressed his head against the pillow, leaning back against Changbin’s chest. The older boy’s face set fire and he stared down at Felix’s rose gold hair. _This_ _is_ _gonna_ _be_ _fun_.

And it was.

“I think this is the straightest I’ve ever seen him.” Jisung mumbled into his ear. Jeongin giggled and the two of them stared at the pair beside them.

Changbin sat like a plank had been glued to his spine. His legs were set firmly together and his arms made a perfect circle around Felix’s waist, only just brushing the fabric of the other boy’s shirt. Every turn, every stop, every skid, Changbin maintained his stance. Straight and immovable.

In contrast, Felix had completely draped himself over the older boy. His limbs fell over each side of Changbin, covering him like a blanket. His pillow had fallen out from behind him and Felix’s head had slid onto Changbin’s shoulder, encasing half of his face in hair.

“I can fucking hear you.” Changbin grunted, spitting out strands of blond hair. His expression had evolved into a mixture of dour and pained.

“Now, now children. No fighting.” Hyunjin’s expression was outright devilish as he grinned at them from the back seat.

“Who’s fighting?” Chan’s voice called from the front seat.

“No one, hyung. Just focus on the road.” Jeongin called, elbowing Changbin’s arm. He jerked right as Chan swerved into the parking garage and Jeongin watched on in glee as he and Felix went flying into the window. _Thud_.

It all happened in seconds. Felix’s head smacked into the window. His eyes shot open, and his body jerked up. Then, his forehead met the roof.

“Shit.” Felix groaned, falling back onto Changbin. The older boy’s posture had opened after Chan’s sharp turn and Felix landed right between his legs. There was a loud, pained moan and Changbin’s body jerked inwards. Another thud was followed by more pained cries as Changbin’s forehead made fierce contact with the back of Felix’s skull.

“Is everything okay back there?” Woojin’s voice was laced with dread.

“I think Felix just emasculated Changbin.” Jisung responded, grinning wildly.

“Is it serious?”

“Mmm, no.” Jeongin called, earning himself a dark glare.

“Good, because we’re here.” On cue, the car jerked to a stop. The door slid open, and everyone began filing out the side.

_______________________________________

“Okay everyone, early night tonight. Get some sleep. We leave at seven.” Jeongin waved at the others and shut the door to his room.

The meeting had gone smoothly, Chan, Jisung, and Changbin had gone over the mission strategy with Jaebum and Jackson, and everything had been sorted in under half an hour.

Yawning, Jeongin crawled under his duvet, and stared into the darkness.

“Sweet dreams.” He whispered, and closed his eyes.  
______________________________________

 _Jeongin_ _couldn’t_ _breathe_. _He_ _was_ _clamped_ _down_ _to_ _an_ _uncomfortable_ _metal_ _chair_ , _metal_ _straps_ _locking_ _him_ _down_ _from_ _his_ _ankles_ _to_ _his_ _neck_. _In_ _front_ _of_ _him_ _stood_ _a_ _tall_ _man_ _that_ _Jeongin_ _had_ _never_ _seen_ _before_. _The_ _room_ _was_ _dark_ _and_ _a_ _horrendous_ _shade_ _of_ _grey_. _An_ _Examination_ _Room_.

“ _Are_ _you_ _done_ _throwing_ _your_ _tantrum_ _yet?_ _Finally_ _ready_ _to_ _listen?_ ” _Jeongin_ _tried_ _to_ _call_ _for_ _help_ _but_ _his_ _mouth_ _stayed_ _shut_. _He_ _couldn’t_ _move_ , _couldn’t_ _speak_ , _he_ _could_ _only_ _watch_ _the_ _scene_ _unfold_ _in_ _front_ _of_ _him_. _He_ _was_ _a_ _passenger_ _in_ _someone_ _else’s_ _body_. _The_ _man_ _sneered_ _and_ _pulled_ _out_ _a_ _nasty_ _looking_ _knife_ , _twirling_ _it_ _between_ _his_ _fingers_.

“ _You_ _know_ , _Yedam_ , _if_ _you_ _just_ _did_ _what_ _we_ _asked_ _you_ _to_ _do_ , _you_ _wouldn’t_ _have_ _to_ _go_ _through_ _this_ _every_ _time_.” _The_ _man_ _was_ _only_ _met_ _with_ _silence_. _Sighing_ , _he_ _twirled_ _the_ _blade_ _once_ _more_ _before_ _driving_ _it_ _straight_ _into_ _Jeongin’s_ _shoulder_.  
______________________________________

Jeongin woke up screaming.

**Jisung**

It came like a storm. First, there was the thunder. Jisung’s bed shaking and the ground rumbling beneath him. The lights flickering. Then, there was the lightning. An overwhelming surge of his own power that took over his body. Then wind.

 _Jeongin_.

Control was never something Jeongin struggled with. He wasn’t like Chan or Changbin or Seungmin. His abilities weren’t as unpredictable. Jisung had only witnessed the youngest lose control once in the past two years. But when he had, it wasn’t pretty.

Jisung rolled off the bed and collapsed on the floor. His body was on fire. Energy burned through his veins and his head pounded under the pressure of Jeongin’s power. Gritting his teeth, Jisung closed his eyes and took a deep breath. _Come_ _on_.

The last time Jeongin had lost control, they had waited him out. Tried to keep a hold on their own abilities until the youngest had burnt himself out, it hadn't taken long.  _Of_ _all_ _the_ _fucking_ _places_. Jisung bowed his head. _Concentrate_ …

Dipping into himself, Jisung envisioned his wind like a tornado of strings. One by one, he reached out and pulled each string, forming a dome around him. A shield from the overwhelming waves of Jeongin’s power.

Gradually, the pressure lifted from his body and the burn of energy dissipated. Jisung gasped and curled in on himself, relishing the release.

He allowed himself a few breaths before standing up, wobbling under the force of the vibrations underneath his feet. _I_ _have_ _to_ _move_. Eventually, Jeongin’s power would reach the other floors. _If_ _Jaebum_ _loses_ _control_ , _we’re_ _all_ _fucked_.

Keeping his hand against the wall, Jisung stumbled over to the door: narrowly avoiding the debris that littered the floor.

“This has impeccable timing.” Jisung muttered to himself, stepping into the hallway. The lights flickered above him, but the hallway was silent, a product of Jisung’s friendly dome. No airwave could touch him until he released it.

Staggering over to Jeongin’s room, Jisung wiggled the knob before plowing his shoulder into the door. The wood rattled, but stayed strong. _Shit_. Jisung tried again, and again, and again, but the door didn’t budge. He groaned.

“Right,” He announced, looking at Minho’s door, “plan B.”

Minho’s door was locked when Jisung reached it. _Here_ _goes_ _nothing_. Stretching out his arms, he took a deep breath, and started slamming his hands against the door. _Comeoncomeoncomeon_.

With an angry crack, the door swung open. Minho was on the ground in front of him, an angry glare fixed on his sweat soaked face. Stepping forward, Jisung knelt in front of the older boy and grabbed his shoulders.

“You need to get up.” Minho looked up at him, an exhausted scowl set on his face as the rumbling subsided beneath them.

“Can I just have a fucking minute, please?” Jisung shook his head.

“No can do, if Jeongin’s overload reaches Jaebum, this whole building could come down.” The older boy groaned and pushed himself off the ground.

“Let’s go then.” He sighed, stepping forward. Jisung didn’t miss the way his arms wrapped themselves gently around his chest. _Something’s_ _broken_.

The door caved easily under the force of Minho’s foot; a swift, earth-powered side kick that knocked the wood right off its hinges. Jeongin was on his bed, tears shining under the violently flickering lights.

Jisung sucked in a breath, and choked. A violent cough tore its way through his throat. _Time’s_ _up_.

“Jisung? What’s wrong?” Minho stared at him, concern etched into his features.

“We- we have to- make him- stop.” Jisung hacked, pointing at Jeongin.

“Is he doing this to you? How?” Jisung groaned and grabbed Minho’s wrist. The older boy hissed violently but didn’t pull away as Jisung dragged the two of them over to Jeongin’s bed.

“This is gonna hurt like a bitch.” Jisung warned, reaching out for the crying boy.

“Wait, what do you-“

Agony. A white, burning fire that tore its way through Jisung’s body, ripping the air out of his lungs. Beside him, Minho dropped, the ground started rocking beneath them.

“Jeongin.” He wheezed. The younger boy looked up at him, tears shining in his eyes.

“It was so real, hyung. He- he- had a knife. And I couldn’t move.” Jisung pulled Jeongin into his arms, resting the boy’s head on his chest. 

“He’s gone now, Jeonginnie. It’s all over, okay? I need you to calm down.” Jisung pushed down his panic as black spots began to dance across his vision. Wind tore its away around the room.  _He's getting stronger._

“It just f-felt so r-real.”

“I know, I know, but it’s over now.” Another coughed wracked Jisung’s lungs. “You’ve gotta calm down, okay? You’re making everyone lose control again.” The youngest looked up at him, panic lacing his tearful expression.

“Your lips are turning blue, hyung.” Jisung nodded, and Jeongin’s eyes widened.

And just like that.

Jisung wheezed as the invisible hand around his neck dissipated, and the pain vanished. From his position on the floor, Minho groaned. 

“I’m so sorry, hyung.” Jeongin sobbed, burying his head into the older boy’s chest.

“It’s okay, Jeonginnie. There’s no harm done.” Jisung murmured, running his hand through the boy’s hair. Jeongin shook his head.

“I could have _killed_ you.”

“Bullshit, we would’ve been fine.” A slam on the other side of the room had Jisung turning his head. Woojin appeared in the doorframe, a wild-eyed expression paired nicely with his singed pyjama pants

“Jeongin! Are you okay?” Jeongin looked up at the oldest, and shook his head, tears reforming in his eyes. Jisung unraveled himself from the boy’s grip and moved to stand over Minho as Woojin strode over to the bed.

“Are you okay?” He whispered, crouching down beside the older boy. Minho winced, and pushed himself into a sitting position.

“I’m fine.” Jisung narrowed his eyes. Before jabbing his finger into Minho’s ribs.

“Sweet shit-“ He moaned, collapsing inwards. “-what the fuck was that for?”

“That was for lying. I know how your abilities work, hyung. I know what happens when you overdo it.” Minho stared at the ground, expression closed.

“I’m fine, Jisungie. Don’t worry about it.”

“You’re clearly not. We have a big mission in like, five hours, just ask Woojin for help.”

“I am. I don’t need any help.”

“You can’t be serious.” _I_ _am_ _way_ _too_ _tired_ _for_ _this_ _shit_.

“I am, I’m perfectly fine, okay? Just leave it alone.”

“I can’t fucking believe this,” Jisung growled, and lifted his head. “Woojin?”

Woojin peered down at him over the top of Jeongin’s head.

“Yeah?”

“Minho took some damage, can you help him?” In the corner of his vision, Jisung spotted Minho’s head shoot in his direction, an angry scowl fixed on his face.

“No problem,” the oldest replied.

Minho shook his head.

“No hyung- really- it’s not that bad. It’s just a couple of fractures, I’m fine- really.” He rushed.

Ignoring him, Woojin slid over to the edge of the bed and leaned over, placing his hands on Minho’s shoulders. The boy winced at the pressure, but didn’t move away as the familiar pear-coloured glow appeared in Woojin’s eyes.

When Woojin finished, he repositioned himself in Jeongin’s arms, carefully running his fingers through the boy’s hair.

“That was more than just a couple of fractures, Minho. Take it easy tonight. I’ll stay with Jeongin. Chan’s unconscious but could you check on the others?” Jisung nodded and gripped Minho’s arm, leading the two of them into the hallway.

When the door clicked shut behind them, Jisung turned and shoved Minho into the wall.

“Seriously? What the fuck is wrong with you?” Minho stared at him, eyes blown.

“What are you talking about?”

“This whole pretending thing. Everyone else lets you get away with it, for whatever reason. But it drives me fucking crazy. What’s so wrong with admitting you broke your fucking bones, Minho? You never tell me when anything is bothering you. You don’t sleep. You’re always struggling with something, yet you never say a fucking word. But for some reason, you expect me to tell you everything. Why don’t you want to just _talk_ to me?” Minho’s face was dark.

“It’s not that simple, Jisung.”

“No, I think it’s perfectly fucking simple. We have known each other for two _years_ Minho. I’m supposed to be your teammate, your mission partner, and your fucking friend, Minho. Yet, you don’t trust me at all.”

“Jisung-“

“No,” he interrupted, “I’ve put up with a lot of your lies over the years. I’ve let you go weeks without a full night of sleep. I’ve let you lock yourself away for days on end. I’ve let you skip meals. But I will _not_ , let you look right at me, and lie to me about your health, literal _hours_ before a big mission.”

“Jisung, please just-“

“No,” he repeated quietly, “I’m going to go check on the others. I’ll see you later hyung.” Jisung turned and stalked over to Changbin’s room, ignoring the burn of Minho’s eyes on the back of his head and the cool stream of tears crawling down his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah...
> 
> [My Tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/toomanythoughtsaboutfandoms)


	5. Who

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts, thoughts piling up,  
> Becoming a wall,  
> I get scared looking at the wall slowly getting higher,  
> This is the world's answer but it's not the answer that I want...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I actually was writing these past 2 months. I was just also doing a lot of other things. But I did it! So please enjoy.

** Minho **

Minho didn’t go back to his room after  Jisung  walked away.

“You sir, look like shit.” Hyuk smirked at him over the counter .

“And don’t I fucking know it.” The chair creaked under Minho’s weight as he slouched against the polished oak.

The old bar underneath the hotel was one of Minho’s favourite spots in the building. The place was rarely crowded due to a general preference  for  the fast-paced environment of the club downstairs. The best part? He never needed to pretend when he was down there.

“I heard you guys were here  for  a mission. When do you pitch out?” 

“Seven. Two shots of vodka, please.” Hyuk continued drying the martini glasses  from  under the counter.

“Seven, as in, a.m? This morning?” Minho rolled his eyes.

“Yes, this morning. Two shots of vodka , please .”

“You know that’s in  like -“  Hyuk  checked his watch, “-five hours, right?”

“I am well aware. Two shots of  vodka .”  Minho pointed his finger dramatically at the vodka on the top shelf. “That stuff, right there.”

Setting the glass down,  Hyuk  leaned over the counter and stared into Minho’s eyes.

“ What happened?”

“I got into a fight with  Jisung . Seriously Hyuk,  the vodka, now. ”

“You  get one ,” he started, pulling the clear bottle of f  the shelf, “ what did you two fight about?”

“The usual.”  The drink burned its way down Minho’s throat and he slid the glass back towards  Hyuk . The bartender sighed.

“ Chan’s gonna kill me if you show up for the mission hungover, or worse, still drunk.” Minho shrugged.

“ He won’t notice. I’m good at pretendin g.”

“Debatable. I’ve seen the way you look at Jisung.” Hyuk said with a smirk, topping up Minho’s glass. “You’re not as good at hiding your bottomless thirst as you are at hiding your  secret  dance classes.”

“ I regret ever  letting you talk me into that .  And it’s not bottomless thirst ,  hyung , it’s just a crush.” Hyuk  laughed.

“A _ very _  deep crush. You were bitching all about it to that guy you  hooked up  with last month.” Minho’s head shot up. “What made him crack anyway? He’s been putting up with your shit for years, it would’ve had to have been something big.”

“Wait, what guy?” Hyuk  ignored him , swirling Minho’s glass  and staring contemplatively into the distance.

“I mean sure, he’s been complaining about you for as long as  you two have known each other,  but he never does anything about it.” 

“ Hyuk,” Minho’s voice cracked, “what guy?”

“The guy you made out with in a fit of drunken rage .  According to Sobin :  that’s the guy, in case you don’t remember ;  you saw  Jisung  grinding with some girl in the club and totally lost it. And ,  the best part? ” Hyuk giggled. “ She was a lesbian.” 

Minho’s head hit the counter with a dull  _ thunk _ _.  _

“You didn’t think to bring this up earlier? Like, I don’t know,  _ a _ _ month ago _ ?” He groaned, burying his head in his arms.  Hyuk snorted.

“It’s not like this is the first time you’ve done this, Minho.  I thought you’d remember.”

“I don’t know -“ Minho  shook his head, “- it’s just... it’s been a weird couple of months .” Minho looked up at Hyuk, who just shrugged.

“Don’t stress yourself over it.” He reassured, sliding Minho’s glass back into his hand. “Just maybe cut down on the drinking.” Minho raised his glass.

“Will do,  hyung .”

__________________________________________________________________________________

It was five-thirty when Minho stumbled  back into his room, crawling in between the soft fabric of the sheets.

It was six-thirty when  Woojin  pounded on his door.

“Time to wake up, Minho. We’ve got a meeting.” Minho groaned, burying his head between the pillows in an effort to nurse his pounding skull. Dragging himself out of bed, he pulled himself into his black mission gear and t rudged t o  Woojin  and Chan’s room.

To say that the others looked like total shit would have been an understatement.  A pale-faced Jeongin sat  squeezed protectively between  Woojin  and Chan on the bed .  Hyunjin sat  draped over the desk chair , head hanging over the back; while  Seungmin  leaned against the wall ; and  Changbin  lay dramatically across the chest at the foot of the bed.

Minho’s eyes landed on  Jisung . His expression remained unreadable , gaze focused intently on  Felix, who lay sprawled out beside him.

Minho  would’ve liked to pretend  it didn’t bother him.

“Right, now that everyone ’ s here, we need to go over the mission.” A chorus of groans echoed through the room, but Chan’s expression remained set.

“I know we all had a rough night last night.  _ Believe me _ , I know. But we have a mission to do. With the exception of Felix, we’ve been through this before. Eat a big breakfast and check in with  Woojin  before we leave.” He stood up. “That’s it from me, so if you’ll excuse me, there is a plate full of  galbi  downstairs that is  screaming my name.”

Minho’s eyes never left  Jisung  as the others  filed  out into the hall. Not until his dark hair vanished and it was only him and  Jeongin  left in the room.

“ Hyung ?”  Jeongin’s  voice was quiet.

“Yes,  Jeonginnie ?” 

“ Can I ask you something?”

“Sure, what’s up?”

“Do you ever see them? In your sleep?” Minho turned to  him , scrunching his eyebrows.

“See who?”

“Your soulmate.” Minho’s body tensed and he stared at  Jeongin’s  tired face.  Changbin  had asked him that once. He ’d  pretended he hadn’t.

“Why, did you see them?”

“That’s not an answer,  hyung .” Minho sighed.

“ ... Yes, I do.”

“What do you see?”

“Most of the time, it feels like I’m reliving his memories. The  worst  parts of his life.” Minho liked to pretend the dreams never bothered him. The sheer number of them.

“And- and how do you know they’re  just  memories?”

“It’s hard to explain. It’s like we’re both reliving it. It just,  _ feels _  like a memory. ”

“Do you ever get  current  dreams?” Minho shook his head.

“I used to. I stopped seeing them a few years ago. Wherever he is, he’s in a safer place. Why do you wan na  know?” Jeongin looked down at his hands.

“My- my soulmate, he’s not safe. They’re hurting him.” Minho’s face softened and he got up, resting his hands on  Jeongin’s  shoulders. The younger boy stared at  him ;  eyes wide.

“He’ll be okay,  Jeonginnie . We’ll find him.”  Jeongin  nodded  and stood up beside him.

“ One more thing, hyung? ” 

“What’s up?”

“Do you ever see ...  good dreams?” Minho’s eyes widened.

“ Uhhh , well I don’t really  _ see  _ them. Sometimes I hear things, voices, music, stuff like that . B ut I’ve never seen one of his good dreams, no.”Jeongin smiled faintly.

“Thanks,  hyung , it’s nice when you open up instead of  acting like a brick wall .” Minho scowled. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Exactly what I said.” A smirk.  Small, but present.  “Let’s go get breakfast, I’m starving.”

 Minho’s stomach churned.

“S ure... sounds like a plan .”

_________________________________________________________________________________

It was a terrible plan.

The car jostled for what must’ve been the eleventh time and Minho folded over , clutching his stomach.

“I don’t get why Chan having a driver’s licen c e means he can drive.” Seungmin growled. “It’ll be a crime no matter who drives.” 

“I have to agree there,”  Hyunjin  piped, gently rubbing Minho’s back, “why can’t  Woojin  drive?”

“Because,” Chan announced, “I’m the leader.”

“Well, dear leader, can you hurry the fuck up before Minho pukes all over us?”

“Not my fault he gets car sick.”

“It is  _ exactly _  your fault he gets car sick.”  Changbin  grumbled, his spot on  Jisung’s  lap restore d.

“Hey, you never know.  He didn’t get sick the last few times. He might’ve been- I don’t know- drinking or something. Maybe he has food poisoning.” Chan argued. Minho  peered  up .  Woojin  was  eyeing him, his expression blank.

“He would never drink before a big mission. Plus,  we all ate the same food. ” The eldest stated, raising his eyebrow at Minho before turning back to the front. The car jostled again. Minho suppressed a gag.

“ Hyung .” Desperation  seeped  into  Seungmin’s  voice.

“No need to worry Minnie.  We’ll be there soon.”

“How soon is ‘soon’?”

“Right… about… now.” The car jerked to a halt, knocking Minho’s aching head against the seat.

They had driven into the forest to avoid being noticed by  other vehicles . If it weren’t for the white light of the morning, the car would have been completely  invisible , blanketed in darkness.

Minho liked to pretend he  wasn’t scared of the dark.

“Okay everyone, team up. We’re heading to the edge of the forest line.”  Minho started after the others, but stopped when hand clamped down on his shoulder. 

“You don’t usually drink before a mission,”  Woojin’s  voice was soft, “what happened?” Minho shook his head.

“It’s nothing,  hyung . I’m fine.” The eldest sighed, and pulled Minho’s shoulder, turning him around.

“One of these days, you’re going to have to stop lying to the people who care about you.” He said, placing his other hand on Minho’s shoulder.  Woojin  took a deep breath and Minho felt the warm current of his power flow through him, relaxing his stomach and soothing his head. “You can go, just try and take care of yourself.” Minho nodded and disappeared into the  woods .

He  walked in silence behind  Jisung  and  Jeongin . Staring off at the  back of their  bobbing  heads as they chatted ahead of him.

_ “ _ _ You can’t trust anyone, Minho. They’ll only use your weakness _ _ es _ _  against you.”  _

_ “Like you.” _

_ “Exactly like me.” _

“Minho?” Minho’s head snapped up and met  Jeongin’s  concerned gaze. Minho’s eyes flickered to  Jisung . The other  ducked his head and turned away, busying himself with climbing up a nearby tree .  _ Well, at least I still exist. _  He moved his gaze back to  Jeongin  and smiled.

“Sorry  Jeonginnie , I just zoned out for a second.” Minho whispered. The youngest raised an eyebrow but said nothing, settling himself in a bush against a large tree. As quietly as he could, Minho pulled the earth upward. It wouldn’t be much, just a small barrier to avoid being noticed by  any spotlights . 

“Is everyone in position?” Chan’s voice crackled  into his  ear.

“Yep.” He whispered in chorus with the others. Settling onto the ground, Minho waited for the chaos to unfold, feeling for the light vibrations of his friends’ feet that marked their existence in the  quiet  forest.

_ Here goes nothing. _

** Seungmin **

** “ ** Guard rotation in  one minute .” Changbin alerted, looking up from his watch.  Seungmin  nodded alongside the others and settled beside  Hyunjin  at the back of the group. 

“Safety is the number one thing,” Chan started, “if one of us goes down, first priority is getting out of there, got it?” 

“Yep.” They chorused.

“Then let’s do this.” Without  another word , they took off into the clearing.

Getting past the guards was the easy part.  Seungmin  wanted to laugh at the blank stares that decorated their faces as they  crept  past, beelining for the menacing steel door ahead of them. 

“I hope this opens quietly.” Chan muttered, resting his hands against the wall. His eyes lit up their usual shade of blue and electricity crackled along his skin. 

Sometimes,  Seungmin  wished Chan would just keep his fucking mouth shut.

With a loud and painful screech, the door began creaking open .  Seungmin swore violently under his breath as all heads turned in their direction.

“Was there something scheduled for this morning?” One of the guards questioned ,  another shook his head.

“Nothing was mentioned, it might just be a glitch in the security system.” The door slid to a painful stop . Seungmin  turned to  Hyunjin .  He  nodded .

“I hate to be the bearer of bad news,”  Seungmin  announced, stepping out of Felix’s barrier, “but it’s a little more than that.” The guards gasped,  a i mi ng their  weapons at  Seungmin. He smirked.

“Now, Jinnie.”  Seungmin  felt like fucking Moses. A  tidal wave of water appeared, arcing over  his  head . S weeping the guards into the concrete walls on either side . 

Hyunjin  appeared beside him, a proud grin  stretching across his face.  Seungmin’s  cheeks warmed.

“Have you been practicing that?”

“Fuck yes, I have,” he beamed. 

“ Not bad,” he conceded, “h ow long do you think we’ve got before the backups get here?” 

Hyunjin frowned, eyeing the unconscious men lying in pools of water.

“Not long, they probably have to report back at some point.” He paused, looking down at  Seungmin . “But while we’ve got a moment, we should probably talk about  last night .” Seungmin tensed, memories clawing at his brain.

“Do we have to do this now?” 

“I mean, it’s either that or  _ you  _ can be the one to explain to Chan why my room is totally scorched and yours isn’t.”  Seungmin groaned . 

“ That’s cold, Jinnie.”

"You know it.”

__________________________________________________________________________________

_ 9 hours earlier _

“Come  _ on,  _ Hyunjin , wake up.”  Seungmin  whispered, pounding against the door. His eyes darted down the hall, searching for signs of activity. He would  sooner  die before explaining his desperate pounding on Hyunjin’s door in the middle of the night. 

“ _ Do I need to give you the obligatory ‘safe sex’ talk?” _

_ “ _ Absolutely not _ ,  _ _ hyung _ _. That’s not what-” _

_ “Oh, what’s going on here?” _

_ “Nothing Jeonginnie, just-” _

_ “ _ _ Seungmin’s _ _  sneaking into  _ _ Hyunjin’s _ _  room in the middle of the night.” _

_ “Oh, hell yes _ _. _ _  Jisung owes me twenty bucks.” _

_ “For fuck’s sake that’s not what-” _

“ Seungmin ?”  Seungmin  whirled around to face  Hyunjin’s  open door. The dark-haired boy was  leaning against the doorframe , squinting at him through a pair of round-rimmed glasses. Seungmin’s heart stuttered.

“ Um, hello.”

“ You’re awake,” he mumbled.

“ Yes.  Very observational, Jinnie.”

“Yeah, no, but like, why?”  Seungmin tensed, a lump forming in his throat.  _ Say something. _

“Minho snores.” He blurted.  _ Nice save, dumbass.  _ Hyunjin  stared at him, eyebrows scrunched.

“I’m aware ... ”

“Cool ,” he nodded, turning back towards his room, “night.”

“Seungmin.”  Seungmin  flinched.

“...Yeah?”

“I  _ know  _ you didn’t wake me up in the middle of the night just to tell me something I already know. What’s up?”

“Oh- well I just- you know, without Minho, it’s just-  kinda  quiet, I guess.” Hyunjin frowned.

“Too quiet?”

“A little, yeah.”  Seungmin  mumbled, dragging a hand through his hair. 

“And  so,  you came here to...?”

“Well, uh, I was hoping I could, I mean, if it’s okay with you-”

“I’m just teasing you, Minnie.”  He smiled . “Of course, you can sleep here.”

Seungmin  fell asleep to the soothing weight of  Hyunjin’s  head against his chest.

__________________________________________________________________________________

_ Present _

“Alright, where do you  wanna  start, then?”  Seungmin  asked, making his way over to the unconscious guards. There was a thoughtful silence, interrupted only by the sound of  Seungmin  dragging the ir  bodies across wet pavement.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“You mean why  _ wasn’t  _ I sleeping?”  Seungmin  grunted, dropping a black-clad woman against the wall.

“Nice try, Minho’s been complaining about your insomnia for the better part of a month.”  Seungmin  flinched, focusing his gaze on the last guard.  The man’s helmet had fallen off.  He was young . T oo young for Seungmin’s liking. “Now, what’s up?”

“Sleep just... hasn’t been easy lately.”

“Why not?” He shrugged.

“The usual reasons.”

“That’s not an answer,  Seungmin .”

“Look, fine, if you  wanna  know so badl-”

“Hey! Intruders!”  Seungmin  cursed,  dragg ing  the last guard into the wall . He turned, sending  a stream of fire in the direction of the voice. A loud chorus of shouts erupted as black figures dove in all directions, narrowly dodging his blaze. 

Stepping forward,  Hyunjin  raised his arms, a wall of water following the path of his hands. The dark-haired boy spread his fingers and  Seungmin  watched the clearing slowly blur in front of him.

“Nice wall.”  He said.  Hyunjin  snorted. 

Seungmin cursed his weak heart. The way it  fluttered a t how  Hyunjin’s  nose scrunched , his eyes forming small crescents. It  was too much.

“N- _ ice  _ wall.” He gigg led.

“You fucking would.”

“I would, indeed.” He replied, grinning widely at  Seungmin’s  scowl. “Now, what was it you were about to tell me?”

“We’re in the middle of an attack, and you’re still asking about my fucking nightmares?”  Hyunjin’s  smile vanished.

“You’re having nightmares?”  Seungmin  groaned and stalked over to the door, straining his ears for the sound of boots on the marble floors.

“This really-” He stopped.  _ Nothing yet _ _. _  “-isn’t the fucking time for this conversation.” 

“How often?” 

“Three or four times a night.”

“What of?”  Seungmin  threw his hands up, spinning on  Hyunjin  with a scowl.

“Alot of things. Anything. They just don’t stop.”  __ He sighed heavily, dragging a hand through his hair. “Are you done now? Because I’d really like to  _ not _  di scuss this .”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”  Seungmin  shrugged.

“I didn’t want to be a burden.”  Hyunjin’s  frown deepened.  No sooner had he opened his mouth to reply  when, a loud  _ chink  _ sounded behind him. They turned. A large crack was splintered in the ice wall.  _ Chink. Chink. _

_ “ _ Oh, shi -”  The wall shattered. Shards of ice sprayed out, slicing into  Seungmin’s  skin. He screamed, dropping to the ground. Above him, gunshots cracked through the air. Warm blood dripped down his arms.  _ Shit, shit, shit- _

“ Seungmin !” He looked up, gritting his teeth against the sting. Hyunjin  was backed up against the opposite wall. Black-clad figures were swarming into the courtyard, guns aimed. The ground rumbled almost imperceptibly underneath him. A question. Seungmin dragged himself to his feet. 

“Absolutely fucking not,  you  scene stealer.” He grunted. 

“Get on your knees!” A man shouted. They were surrounded.  Seungmin  put his hands up in surrender, flinching at the pull of skin. He peered around the courtyard. The foyer was still empty. No sign of reinforcements.  _ This better work. _

“ Just for next time , I would consider upgrading to a carbon dioxide extinguisher system.” Seungmin said, sliding cautiously to his knees. His jeans clung to his legs, sticky with blood as they pressed against the pavement. He had just enough time to catch the confusion on their faces before pitching a ball of flames straight into the foyer.

Seungmin  had to admit, there were perks to breaking into a state-of-the-art facility. Example A, no one ever actually expected a break-in.

Fire engulfed the foyer. Alarm bells screamed, and almost instantly,  a spray  of water filled the room. Seungmin used the distraction to grab the nearest guard, bringing his knee into the man’s face. 

“Drop him, before I fucking shoot you.” A voice warned.  Seungmin  frowned, dropping the man into the water pooled around their feet. He groaned, clutching his nose. “That’s a good boy.” 

“You know, that’s really starting to get on my fucking nerves.” He growled, crossing his arms.  Warmth soaked into his shirt.  “Everyone just keeps  _ underestimating  _ me _.  _ I’m not stupid. I don’t just shoot fire everywhere for no fucking reason.”

“Get on your knees,  _ boy _ .” He did. 

Seungmin  would admit that not everyone in the courtyard was a complete idiot. Some had the common sense to look down, confused by the water pooling at their feet.

Others, not so much. 

The water erupted from the ground like a volcano. Shouts of terror filled the courtyard as the clear liquid encased the guards, freezing around their bodies.

Seungmin  stood, barely covering his grimace. He  stopped in front of the guard, ripping off their helmet. A gruff-looking woman glared down at him, lip curled in disgust. 

“Don’t worry,” he cooed, “I won’t tell.”

“Fuck you,” she spat.  Seungmin’s  grin widened.

“Sorry sweetheart, I don’t swing that way.” Her face went red, but before she could say anything,  Seungmin  brought the helmet down on her skull.  She  slumped.  A voice called out across the courtyard.

“Anything else you need to say or...?” 

“No, I'm done.”  Hyunjin  snorted, pushing himself off the far wall. With a dramatic wrist flick, the ice wrapped around the guards’ heads in a murky, white bubble.

“I can’t believe you came out to an entire courtyard of people trying to take you down. That’s  Jisung -level dramatic.”  Seungmin’s  grin dropped, a scowl forming in its place.

“Never say that again.”

“I’ll stop saying it when it stops being true.” Hyunjin’s  smile was blinding.

“Fuck off.” A beat of silence.

“So, how much longer do you think they’ll be?”

“They better not be long.”  Seungmin  muttered, leaning against the large door frame. Black spots  danced across  his vision. “Did they hurt you at all?”

“Just bruised. Your light show, kept them busy.”

“Good.”

** Felix **

“Left coming up,” Chan murmured. Felix nodded, blinking a drop of sweat from his eye. He sighed internally as they came up to yet another grey hallway.  _ How does Chan even know where we’re going? These hallways are all the same.  _

A hand squeezed his shoulder , pulling him to a stop . Voices echoed down the hall.

“Guard Lee? Guard Lee, please respond.” Felix held his breath. Together, they crept silently to the wall, pressing against the cold stone.  Clenching his shaking hands , Felix watched the approaching shadows grow. 

“Should we send a group to check on them?” The other voice asked. 

“Send the west-side guards. Have them report back when they’ve secured the door.” Air hissed between Felix’s teeth. The hands on his shoulders tightened their grip.  _ Hyunjin _ _  and  _ _ Seungmin _ _.  _ Another drop of sweat trickled down his forehead. 

“We can’t dismiss the idea that there might be intruders. We should run a security sweep on the building.” Two men rounded the corner, their arms planted firmly behind their backs. “The number of raids on the District buildings has been on the rise lately. We can’t be too careful.”

“I swear, sometimes it’s like those kids are doing it to fuck with the Council.”

“Yeah well, word on the street is, the Council found  someone  that might finally give them an advantage over the rebels.” Finger pinched into Felix’s shoulders, digging painfully into his skin. He closed his eyes.  _ Focus. _ _.. _

“Is that what they’ve been working on in the research block?”

“Nah, they’re keeping him somewhere in the city. If he’s as dangerous as they say, I can’t imagine the Council would want him anywhere near their precious research.”  The voices continued  down the corridor , fading with distance . 

Felix cracked his eyes open and turned to Chan and  Changbin . He was met with matching tight expressions, a war of emotions  battling across the boys’ faces .

“We have to keep moving.” Felix whispered, trying his best to ignore the sweat creeping down his neck. “We don’t have a lot of time.”

That seemed to break their trance. The two of them nodded, and Felix turned back down the corridor. 

“This is the last  turn ,” Chan whispered  after a while , “the research area should be  just dow-”

Alarms. Loud, blaring sirens that made Felix jump, flinching against the wall. Then sprinklers.

“ Seungmin ,”  Changbin  muttered, peering around the corner. Doors  swung  open, panicked office workers raced out into the hallway. No doubt bee-lining for the emergency exits. Voices rose over the alarms, a clamour of confusion, irritation, and fear doing murder on Felix’s eardrums.

“At least... clears the area... Much easier than fighting.. .  the lab...” Felix shook his head, trying to clear the ringing in his ears.

“...okay?”

“...lix? …Felix? Felix?” His head shot up.

“Are you okay?” He looked around. The hallway was empty. The only signs of activity were the alarms still blaring overhead, and the cold spray of water matting his face. The other two stared at him, brows furrowed.

“Yeah- I’m fine- I'm good.” A shared look passed between them.

“I’ll go into the lab.” Chan announced, stepping away from the wall. He pointed at an unopened door a few feet away. “That should be a maintenance closet. You two wait for me there. I’ll knock when I get everything we need.”

Felix opened his mouth in protest, but his words fell short. Chan held up a hand.

“You still need to get us all out of here.” His  tone  was final. “Go wait. I won’t be long.” 

Without another word, he took off down the hallway. Checking the open doors for stragglers as he went. A hand wrapped around his wrist and Felix didn’t stop  Changbin  from dragging him into the closet; shutting the door behind them with a firm  _ click _ . 

“You can drop  it  now.” Felix nodded, releasing the dome around them. He leaned back against the wall with a grateful sigh. The room lapsed into silence, but Fel ix didn’t care ;  he was  more focused on the sweet chill of the stone wall on his burning skin.

“What happened back there?” Felix blinked.  Changbin  had seated himself across the small room. Dimly, he marvelled at the older boy’s ability to melt into the darkness, as if the two were one.

“What do you mean?”  He felt, more than saw the eyeroll.

“You know what I mean.”

“I was just a bit tired; we took longer than planned.” A huff.

“I’m not blind, Felix. Exaggerated startle responses, nightmares, dissociating ;  Hyunjin’s the same. Jisung too. Not to mention what  Woojin  has labelled, ‘an odd display of extreme guilt’.”

“A what?”

“The way you talk about District 9. The others avoid it like the plague,  Hyunjin  especially. But you act like it means nothing. Like you deserved it.” Felix bit his lip and averted his eyes. His gaze caught on the faint stream of light from the crack under the door. The alarms stopped.

“That’s because I did.”

“...What?”

“I was one of the first kids to develop abilities when everyone started dying. Back when the District Council was barely a thing. Just a group of politicians advertising safety and  _ treatment _ , for the ones that survived.” Felix closed his eyes. Memories flashed across his eyelids, clear as day.

“My parents didn’t want send me away. Not at first. But I was unstable. I- I did something bad, like, really bad. I was on the next truck to the nearest District facility faster than I could say ‘I’m sorry’.”

“But that was  like ...” Felix couldn’t help the bitter smile that crept onto his face.

“Ten years ago? Yeah. It doesn’t feel like it, though. The days all blur together after a while.”

“Felix, that’s-”  He  shook his head.

“Don’t,  Changbin . It was horrible at first. But after a while, it just becomes normal.” They lapsed back into silence. Felix kept his eyes shut, trying to remember his mum’s face.

“My parents didn’t hesitate to send me to the Districts.” Felix opened his eyes. The words had barely been above a whisper. “My sister was their pride and joy. The heir to the family company, always did well in school, loved by everyone, including me.

When the disease struck, our parents locked us away. We stayed like that for five years, hiding. Bu t it didn’t help, she still got sick .” Air hissed between Felix’s teeth.

“She died a week before my fourteenth birthday. I got my abilities two weeks later. You didn’t have to be a mind reader to  see  how  relieved my parents  were when they sent me away.”

“That sucks,” Felix said, and he meant it.

“I suppose it does.  But, in  a way, I was kind of relieved. As soon as my sister got sick, my parents blamed me.  They thought  it should’ve been me.” Changbin croaked. Felix flinched.  _ Who says that to their own child? _

“For the record, hyung. They were wrong. And I’m sure the others would agree with me.” The older boy huffed a laugh. 

“I’m sure they would, too.”

“How did you meet them, anyway?”

“Well, I used to share a cell with Chan and Jisung. A total nightmare if you ever want a moment of  peace ...” 

Felix didn’t know how long they sat there. Talking about  Changbin’s past  with th eir friends . It was easy to lose himself in the moment, laughing quietly in the darkness. He learned about  Woojin’s  obsession with horror movies, Minho’s fear of heights, Chan’s dream of going bungee jumping,  Hyunjin’s  star crush on Jinyoung,   Jisung’s  secret drawing skills,  Seungmin’s  spice intolerance, and  Jeongin’s  career as a child model. 

“Not that I’m one to judge,”  Changbin  rambled, “I can’t sleep without my stuffed Munchlax.”

Felix snorted softly.

“What the fuck is a  Munchlax ?”

“It’s a cute, little, fat thing from a kids’ T.V. show. I found it when we moved into the house.”

“Did you name it?”

“...”

“You did, oh my god. What’s its name?”

“...Gyu.”

“That’s so cute.” Felix giggled.

“Fuck off.”

“Honestly, in the whole, like, three weeks that  I’ve  known you, I haven’t once believed  it whe everyone sa id  that you’re really not as a dark as you say you are. But now, I’m sitting here with you, in a fucking maintenance closet, listening to you talk about your stuffed Munchlax.” Felix couldn’t stop himself. He doubled over, giggles taking over his body.

“I made a mistake,”  Changbin  groaned. 

Suddenly, Felix’s giggles came to an abrupt halt, interrupted by the faint sound of knocking against the door. 

Changbin  slowly moved to his feet, sliding further back into the shadows. Felix mimicked him, edging as far as he could away from where the door would open. In painfully slow motion,  Changbin  wrapped his fingers around the door knob, delicately twisting it, before swinging the door open. 

Light filled the closet, forcing Felix to squint. 

“Jesus, Chan. You scared the shit out of us.” A relieved sigh escaped Felix’s lips. Stepping forward into the doorframe, Felix squinted at the boy in front of him. 

Chan stood in the hallway, a wild look in his eyes, but otherwise fine. Felix took a deep breath preparing the area around him for their escape.

“I did say I would knock. Anyways, I got what we needed. Felix?” Felix held up a finger. He closed his eyes, visualising a dome forming around him. His energy responded instantly, rushing up to meet him. He took another deep breath.  _ Steady. _

“Okay,” Felix responded after a few seconds, “I’m ready.”

The other two nodded, and together they stepped out into the hallway.  _ We actually did it. _

** Chan **

During Chan’s early days in District 7, there had been a ‘Games’ room. It was a nicer time. Back when the District Council still believed that they could ‘gently coax’ the kids into doing their bidding. 

There wasn’t much to the room. A ratty pool table, some boardgames, and an ancient TV set pretty much made up the room. It  was  Chan’s favourite place.

Every day, he would sit with the other kids, watching an old sci-fi series called ‘Doctor Who’. It was only an hour, but it was the best hour of Chan’s day. It took almost a year for the District Council to give up on the ‘nice’ approach. He never saw another episode of ‘Doctor Who’ again  after that .

Not until today. Today, Chan was living it.

“You have got to be kidding me.” He stared at the monitor towering over him. “This is just too much.”

The screen itself was almost two metres in height and took up nearly a quarter of the far wall. Chan crept forward, eyes darting around the room. Checking for loose information or a group of angry Cybermen, he didn’t know. 

“Just find the CPU and stick the flash drive in,” he recited. It wasn’t difficult to remember, but he had been reciting it to himself for weeks. Even Shinwon had forced Chan to repeat those exact words back to him, dangling the  drive in  front of his face.

_ “And Chan, for fuck’s sake, don’t touch anything.”  _

He’d had reason for it. Chan had lost count of the number of devices he’d accidentally short-circuited over the years.  He hadn’t  _ meant  _ to, it just happened sometimes, when he wasn’t paying attention.

Eventually, his eyes landed on a large black box sitting at the corner of the monitor’s desk.  _ Bingo.  _ He plugged the device in and watched the confirmation window appear on the screen. Humming lightly, Chan dropped into a nearby desk chair. A few mouse-clicks left Chan watching the loading bar inch forwards at a snail’s pace.  _ What could they possibly need so much data for? _

“It couldn’t hurt to peek,” Chan mused, the cursor already moving over to the files. There were dozens. His hand stopped on a file. “’Patient Logs’? Hmm.” 

He clicked the first link that came up. A video popped up on the screen. There was a girl strapped down to chair, dark hair hanging limp over her too-thin face. 

“Patient one,” a voice said, “Dong Joona. Soulmate, Kim Hyungsok.” The girl looked up; eyebrows drawn.

“What’s happening?” She mumbled, trying to pull her arms free. Her eyes widened as she began to  realise ,  she was trapped. “What are you doing?”

“Patient is conscious,” the voice continued. “let’s begin the first trial.” 

There was a sound in the background, a door opening, a clamour of motion. The girl,  Joona , gasped. 

“No,” her voice cracked, “leave him alone,  _ please _ . Please, do anything you want to me .  I’m begging you, please , don’t'. Please.  Leave him  _ alone _ .” A  _ whir  _ sounded behind the camera. And then -  screams. 

Joona  sobbed, and pleaded, and struggled against her restraints. Her eyes glowed a fierce shade of grey, her skin glazed over. And Chan watched. He sat, frozen, incapable of doing anything but let the silent tears creep down his face. He cried until the screaming stopped, and all that was left was the painful sound of  Joona’s  broken sobs.

“First trial successful. The patient has responded as expected. Trial two will be conducted when the soulmate has healed.” The door opened and closed again in the background. The video went black. 

Chan’s hand was shaking when he lifted it again, moving the cursor to close the files. There were only a few more minutes left of the download. He spent those minutes in silence before pulling the flash drive from the black box with a fierce yank. 

At some point, the alarms had gone quiet. The hallway was silent save the faint splash of water underneath Chan’s boots. He stopped in front of the maintenance closet, and knocked. Silence. Chan had just  leaned  in when the door swung open. 

Changbin  stood in the door frame,  eyes glowing,  two spheres of  purple fog  resting in his palms. Upon seeing Chan, the boy relaxed, breathing out a sigh.

“Jesus, Chan. You scared the shit out of us ,” he said. Felix stepped out from behind the door, relief etched in his face.

“I did say I would knock. Anyways, I got what we needed. Felix?” The blond held up a finger. Chan and  Changbin  stood in silence for a beat. And then the warm flow of Felix’s energy washed over them. Chan smiled. He couldn’t help it. It felt like soft hugs, and forehead kisses, and everyone  together  at the breakfast table; smiling and laughing. 

“Okay,” Fe lix announced , “I’m ready.”

__________________________________________________________________________________

Sometimes, Chan thought about his life, and realised that he couldn’t ask for anything more. He had his team, he had  Woojin , he had a  _ purpose _ .

Other times, Chan realised that the universe actually hated him.

“The security scan detected three heat signatures moving through the building,” a voice echoed down the hall. Felix stilled. Chan gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, guiding them towards the wall. 

“Does it say where they are now?” It was definitely the two guards from earlier. Their steel toe boots splashed through the puddles littering the marble floors. He lifted his hand from Felix’s shoulder, allowing electricity to crackle along his skin.

Chan dipped his foot into a nearby puddle. Concentrating, he pushed the energy out, directing towards the guards. A trail of blue light flashed across the ground. 

The two men froze. Their bodies jolted unnaturally, spasming from the electricity being forced through them before collapsing. 

“ They’ll be fine in a couple minutes. ” He turned back to the others, who stared at the bodies twitching on the floor. “We have to keep moving.” 

Felix’s eyes never left them. Not until their unconscious forms disappeared from his peripheral vison. 

Chan ignored the press of guilt against his chest, guiding them down the empty hallways. Distantly, he heard the clamour of people moving. Employees.  _ They must’ve gotten the all clear _ . 

“Chan...?”  Changbin’s  voice was laced with concern. 

Felix’s muscles tensed under his hand. The noise grew. 

Chan squeezed his eyes shut, wracking his brain. There weren’t any rooms in the corridor that wouldn’t soon be swarmed with people. 

“Felix.” He said, eyes shooting open. The blond turned to him. 

“When we were at  Jaebum’s , you said you could move at light speed.” Felix gaped. Behind him, a crowd of people began filling the corridor. Expensive shoes clacked __ along the marble.

“Hyung,” his vo ice was weak. 

“I know.” Chan nodded, resting his  hands on  Felix’s shoulders. “But if we stay here, we will get caught.”

The boy’s eyes darted back to the crowd closing in on their spot. His gaze dropped.

“Okay,” he breathed out, “okay... I can do this.” Chan nodded, squeezing his shoulder.

“Yes, you can.”

“Just- walk with me. And hold on. It can be really disorienting the first time.” Chan’s gaze darted to  Changbin . 

The  dark-haired  boy stood silent, taking in the situation. He turned, matching Chan’s stare, before nodding.

“Whatever it takes.”

Felix dipped his head, closing his eyes. Around them, the landscape blurred, colours streaking past them in dizzying lines. 

Chan’s mind spun. Beside him,  Changbin  croaked, squeezing his eyes shut. 

“Okay,” Felix whispered, “follow me.” 

Chan kept his eyes on the ground, following the movement of Felix’s feet ,  muttering turns  after every step . He had no idea where they were. Chan was just reciting directions and praying for the best.

It hadn’t even been two minutes of  baby steps  when Felix came to a halt. The boy was breathing heavily, muscles shaking beneath Chan’s palm.

“I think-” he  huffed;  “-I think we made it.”

Chan looked around.  Their surroundings shifted, coming into focus.

“Oh, thank god,” Chan breathed. They were in the foyer.  Seungmin  and  Hyunjin  stood by the door, staring silently out into the courtyard.  _ Are those... people? _

“ Hyunjin , what the fuck?”  Hyunjin  whipped around  with a shriek ; arms raised. His eyes widened.

“Shit,  Changbin . You scared me.” Across from him,  Seungmin  scoffed.

“Not that it takes much.”  Hyunjin’s  nostrils flared.

“Okay, listen here-” 

“Guys,”  Changbin  interrupted, waving his hands, “we have to get moving. We don’t have a lot of time before-”

“Intruders!” A voice erupted. A hoard of black-clad figures  stormed  down the  hall ;  weapons raised.

“Before the next guard rotation,”  Changbin  finished. Chan froze.  _ No. _

Lifting his hands, Chan started moving forwards. He made it all of one step  when a hand clamped down on his shoulder, lurching him away from the crowd. There was a distant shout and the cock of guns filled the corridor.

“Grab  Seungmin’s  hand,” Felix whispered, dragging him to the door, “and whatever you do, don’t let go.” Chan nodded, matching Felix’s pace as they ran.

Seungmin  cursed violently when Chan latched onto him, trying to wrench his hand out of his grasp. The younger boy’s hand was slick.  _ Is that...? _

Chan didn’t get a chance to guess. The world around him blurred dizzyingly. Somewhere nearby,  Hyunjin  gasped and the  _ crack  _ of gunfire echoed behind them. 

Suddenly, Minho materialised in front of him. Chan was met with a chorus of surprised screams, and a painful  _ thud  _ sounded from the bushes, followed by a groan.

“Chan?”  Jeongin’s  voice was quiet.  Shocked.

“No time,” he said, “we have to go.  _ Now. _ ” 

“But how-” More gunshots. The ground erupted behind them, a wall of solid earth covering the opening in the trees. Chan raced over to the bushes, hauling Jisung off the ground.

“ _ Move. _ ” 

So, they did.  Changbin  wrapped Felix’s arm around his shoulder and dragged him into the forest.  Hyunjin  followed, grabbing  Seungmin’s  wrist and sprinting after. Then  Jisung . Then Minho.  _ Almost there. _

Jeongin  had  barely  stepped forward after them when a  hail of gunfire shot  through the trees. He froze, staring at Chan in wide-eyed terror.

Chan didn’t waste another second. He grabbed  Jeongin’s  hand and pulled them into the forest.

__________________________________________________________________________________

The car was idling when they reached it. Chan  breathed out a relieved sigh, before  slamming the door open, shoving his teammates into the car.

“Come on guys,” he called, flipping up the middle seats, “we really don’t have a good head start here.”

“Umm,  hyung ?”  Seungmin’s  voice. 

Chan turned, ready to hustle the younger boy into the car, and stopped.  Seungmin  was leaning against a tree. He looked pale; breathing shallow. And his hands...

_ Blood.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Noice.
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